Destroyed: a PPG Story
by AgentofMischief
Summary: A sequel to Powerless. Professor Utonium reveals he has brain cancer and a year to live if he's lucky. Each Girl copes differently, but Blossom cooks up a scheme to save his life, enlisting the help of Doctor Holiday and Dexter McPherson to create a cure. Meanwhile, an old enemy rears its ugly head and Buttercup manages to get caught in a love triangle...
1. Chapter 1

"A great man and leader of Townsville's last words to me were "I did my duty to queen and country, that's all that matters now. I'll be going to that great pickle jar in the sky soon."" Sara Bellum, the city's current mayor, said.  
"Of course by then, the Mayor had gone senile and his mind had spilled away like the liquid in a shattered jar of dill pickles," the Mayor's ex-secretary reflected silently.  
The former Mayor of Townsville, a tiny, monocled man who had been mayor so long that no one quite remembered his name, had died only three days before, having choked to death on his favorite snack. The irony was not lost on Ms. Bellum, who had been the Mayor's secretary for over ten years, until he had retired at the age of seventy. He likely would have survived, had someone been there to administer the Heimlich maneuver. His hysterical wife had found him in front the refrigerator after coming home from a spa treatment.  
And now all of the citizens of Townsville were attending his funeral, including the city's own heroic trio of children, the Powerpuff Girls.  
"Ugh, can't they hurry it up! He was the mayor for crying out loud, not someone important!" Buttercup complained, arms crossed across the front of the long sleeved black dress she had been made to wear for the occasion. It was old, musty, and looked at least forty years out of date. No doubt the Professor had dug it out of the attic.  
Several people turned in their seats and glared at the green Powerpuff.  
"Look at it this way, Buttercup, at least you get to leave the house." Blossom sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation at her sister.  
It had been the first time in weeks since Buttercup had returned home from the hospital (after ingesting explosives laced Chemical X and nearly dying) that the girls' father, Professor P.L. Utonium, had let her leave their suburban home.  
"The Professor didn't even let me go out on Saturday for me and Ace's two year anniversary. We had to order in takeout and watch some cruddy movie on pay-per-view. So much for a romantic date." Buttercup rolled her lime green eyes.  
"He's just worried about you, sis. You were in a really bad accident." Bubbles chimed in.  
"It was no accident. Mojo Jojo planted those explosives," Buttercup said darkly. "And besides, it's been two months. I'm better now. _And,_ I've got my powers back. I can and will be a superhero again. I'm _not_ some helpless child."  
"It's not about you being helpless. The Professor knows you can handle yourself. It's about your health, mental and physical. You've never been injured this badly before and you don't seem to know your own limitations." Blossom said snootily.  
"I'll show _you_ limitations, Miss Priss." The dark haired triplet muttered.  
"- And now, Professor Utonium would like to say a few words about the deceased." interrupted the wrinkly old funeral home director.  
" And that means the Utonium _girls_ oughtta shuddup!" someone exclaimed.  
A few people sniggered. Buttercup was tempted to shout back, but merely stuck out her tongue instead. It was, after all, a reasonably high profile funeral and Buttercup was a high profile attendee. She didn't want her face plastered on the cover of some tabloid rag with a headline like "Powerpuffs Interupt Former Mayor's Funeral! Could the Girls Be Dangerously Out Of Control?" It wasn't worth it, and considering how long it had been since she'd fought crime, Buttercup and her sisters needed all the good press they could get.

After the Mayor had been buried, the Utoniums stopped at at a fast food joint. The Professor, having been tinkering in his laboratory since dawn, insisted he was too tired to cook that night. They ordered nearly enough burgers and fries to feed a small village and sat down at a corner table. Blossom and Bubbles sat down on one side and Buttercup and the Professor sat on the other.  
Buttercup heard the click of cameras as the restaurant's other patrons realized the Powerpuff Girls were in their midst, and she wished she'd been allowed to change out of her hideous funeral dress before they'd come there. Nevertheless, she dug into her food like she didn't know when the next time she'd be able to eat. Her sisters giggled as she got ketchup all over her face and on the offending dress clothes.  
In contrast, Bubbles ate her food primly and slowly like a proper little lady, while Blossom read over the burger's ingredients and calorie count before digging in.  
It was several minutes before anyone spoke, and by then Buttercup had demolished nine burgers, five ice cream sundaes, and countless fries.  
"Girls, I've been thinking a lot about- I'm not going to be around forever and- I've been thinking about starting to... write my will. I've set up an appointment with an estate lawyer for next Tuesday." their creator said nervously.  
The enthusiastic eating stopped abruptly. Pink, blue, and green eyes grew wide. It was a real mood killer by Buttercup's reckoning.  
"Professor, don't say that." Bubbles whimpered, tears already filling her large blue eyes.  
"It's not like he's gonna keel over any second, right, Professor?" Buttercup snorted.  
A sad look flashed across the genius's face.  
"Professor? Dad?" Blossom said softly.  
"I went to the doctor's office for a routine check-up and they found an anomaly. I came back a few days later and the doctor did a few scans and x-rays and... they found a tumour in my brain. I'd been having migraines, but I thought it was because I'd been staying up late and working in my lab." Utonium said.  
"Is it...terminal, Professor?" the redhead asked.  
"The tumour is still small, but after a few chemotherapy sessions, the doctor might be able to do surgery. But it's growing at an unprecedented rate." he avoided his daughter's question.  
"How long've you got?" Buttercup asked somberly.  
"Well, I'll have to go through chemo, surgery, and-"  
"Professor, how long have you got!" Buttercup interrupted.  
"If they tumour doesn't go away after chemo and it becomes too large to operate, I only have about a year. A year and a half, if I'm lucky. But the worst part isn't that I'm going to die, it's that I'll never get to see you three grow up, get married, and start families of your own." their father said soberly.  
All three sisters felt tears burning in their eyes. They weren't ready to lose him, not so soon after their step-mother, Laura Keane. It felt like everyone they had ever cared about was dying around them, and they were powerless to stop it.  
All three Powerpuff Girls burst into tears, right then and there at the fast food place.  
No one, not even Buttercup continued to eat after that. The rest of the time at the burger joint was a blur, and she only remembered her father apologizing that he, in all likelihood, would not be able to restore Blossom and Bubbles's powers before his death. He apologized for a lot of things, but Buttercup wasn't really listening.  
She thought instead of what the Professor's illness would mean for all of them, and how painful it would lose him so young. And the realization hit her that at fifteen and a half years old, she was on track to becoming an orphan.

After the restaurant, Buttercup literally flew up the stairs, a blur of black and green light, her sisters trailing behind her. Once all three Powerpuff Girls were in the room, Blossom shut the bedroom door behind her.  
Buttercup stripped off the ugly, lacey dress, replacing it in an instant with green and black tank top, black yoga pants, and a battered, olive drab army jacket with the name Utonium stitched on the left side. She'd found it in the attic a week before, and thought it might have belonged to her grandfather or an uncle. Blossom followed suite, though at a much slower pace, shoving on a fuzzy pink and black striped sweater, her signature bow, and a pair of jeans. Only Bubbles stayed in her funeral attire as she sat in the corner, clutching her beloved Octi in both hands.  
"It's just not fair!" Buttercup exploded.  
"Why is it that some people get to live to be a hundred, but then some people die so young? The Professor's only...only fifty-seven." Blossom croaked, barely containing her tears. Bubbles, meanwhile wasn't even trying to hold back her anguish.  
Buttercup started throwing pillows, lamps, and Bubbles's stuffed animals at the wall, Bubbles wailed like a banshee, and Blossom paced back and forth, talking as though she was trying to reason with the Grim Reaper himself. That went on for about ten minutes, and then all three girls went absolutely silent.  
Blossom was the first to break the silence. "When, no, if the Professor dies, who you think he'll leave as our caregiver?"  
"I don't think he'll leave us in foster care or at an orphanage. Maybe with Uncle Eugene or Mayor Bellum." Buttercup said quietly.  
"Do you think the Professor's really gonna die?" Bubbles squeaked from her corner.  
" I...I just don't know, Bubbles." the pink Powerpuff said softly.  
"Do you think we'll still get to stay here or do ya think whoever gets to be in charge of us will sell it?" Buttercup mused.  
"The Professor paid off the mortgage, so one of us might get it when we're old enough to inherit. I doubt Uncle Eugene or the mayor would sell it. They'd know how much this house means to the three of us." Blossom said.  
They were all quiet again, and Buttercup thought of what all this would mean for herself, her sisters, their family. Ace. She needed to message him soon and tell him what had happened that day. This concerned him, too. If not for the Professor, they wouldn't have been able to continue dating, because, though at the time they had begun dating, Buttercup had been 13 going on 14 and Ace recently turned 16, Ace was now 18 and legally an adult. Had the Professor wanted to, he could've forced them to stop being together, despite the minor age difference. Ace owed P.L Utonium their relationship, even if he didn't want to admit it.  
He had reason to care about Utonium, and not just because of Buttercup. The Professor had been one of the first people to believe in and trust the Gangreen Gang when they decided to stop their lives of crime. He had helped them gain better PR, found them better homes to live in... which they promptly moved to the dump, and let them into his home and into his life, but only when the Gang had earned it. The Professor had let them in and they became like family instead of enemies, in more ways than one.  
Ace, Snake, Big Billy, Grubber, and Arturo were all grateful for the opportunity to prove themselves and to prove they could be more than bullies and thugs.  
Not everyone had approved of Utonium taking them under his wing, especially Blossom and Bubbles. Buttercup had secretly been delighted, having never really gotten over her crush on Ace, not that she let her sisters know that. Heck for all Buttercup knew, Ace hadn't even known until after she lost her powers and she'd confessed that she had feelings for him.  
"Whatever happens, we all need to stick together. We can't let anyone or anything separate us." Blossom said.  
Bubbles and Buttercup nodded, silently agreeing to stay together.

Buttercup pulled out her bright green cell phone and began messaging Ace online. They texted back and forth for several minutes before she broke the bad news.  
 **aceofhearts375** : U okay?  
 **DashofSpice117** : Not really. I'm worried ' bout him, u know?  
 **aceofhearts375** : Want to talk about it?  
 **DashofSpice117** : Not really. Talked ' bout it enough w/ Bloss 'n Bubbles.  
 **aceofhearts375:** Do u want to come over?  
 **DashofSpice117** : Yeah, when can u get me?  
 **aceofhearts375** : B there in 10.  
Buttercup let out a sigh or relief as she put her phone to sleep. She needed Ace to be there for her then even more than she did after the Girls had lost their powers.  
She never thought it would cross her mind, but in a way she felt like she had more control over the situation then, even though she had been angry and upset at her loss. Maybe it was because with her powers, Buttercup had hoped that one day they would return, thinking it to be just a fluke. But this time it was a terminal disease that was coming between her and her father.  
Buttercup promised herself she'd try to stay strong and be there for the Professor, but she knew if he died, she would break down and it wouldn't be pretty.  
 _Please don't let my dad die. Please? Please..._


	2. Chapter 2

Buttercup packed a small overnight bag as she waited. She wasn't sure how long she would stay with the Gangreen Gang at Townsville's dump, so she needed to be prepared. Toothbrush, extra change of clothes, pajamas, some cash, some food.  
She wasn't running away from her problem, she reasoned, she just needed a break from it and from Bubbles's persistent sobbing. She just needed some quiet and some time with Ace, that was all.  
Buttercup felt momentarily guilty. It's not that she wanted to distance herself from the Professor or hurt his feelings, she just didn't want to feel the twinge of pain and despair she felt every time she looked at him. Most of all, it upset her that there was really nothing she could do for him. She wasn't a scientist, a geneticist (like Blossom was going to college to become), or a genius. Heck, Buttercup didn't even feel very much like a superhero.  
 _What kind of superhero can't even save her own father?_ The thought bounced back and forth through her head like a Super Ball. And it hurt her more than any villain ever had.  
Buttercup forced back tears, willing the pain away. There was no guarantee the Professor was going to die for sure. Yes, he had brain cancer, but people beat cancer all the time, right? Right?  
She heard the sound of a car horn beeping insistently outside and knew Ace was there to pick her up. She flew downstairs and out the door. She nearly knocked him down as she flew towards the beat up green van.  
Ace was tempted to say something snarky about Buttercup being in a hurry, but held his tongue. She'd probably hit him if he did, and considering she now had her super-strength back, it would hurt. A lot. He remembered just how much it hurt to be hit by her, though the last time Buttercup had punched him-with powers anyway-, she'd probably still been in elementary school. The memory made Ace visibly cringe as Buttercup launched into a hug, holding him tightly, her head resting on his chest. If she noticed, the green Powerpuff gave no indication.  
"C'mon, let's go this show on the road, Green-eyes." he said instead.

It would've been faster to fly to the dump, but Buttercup wanted the company. She rested her head on Ace's shoulder, not saying a word. Ace wanted to give her hand a reassuring squeeze, but traffic was heavy that day and he needed to have both hands on the wheel.  
A car swerved jerkily beside them, as though moved by an outside force. Then they heard the screams, saw the fires raging out of control, smelled the foul stench of a monster.  
"Darn it! We have to stop it!" Buttercup said, sitting up straight suddenly. She wrenched furiously at her seat belt, nearly pulling it out of the wall. "It's stuck!"  
Ace sighed then hit the release button on the seat belt. Buttercup grimaced, embarrassed she had nearly been thwarted by a seatbelt of all things.  
"Ya think ya can handle a team-up, Buttercup?" her boyfriend teased, saying her name like "Buddacup".  
"I thought you'd never ask." the girl with the big green eyes said with a grin.  
The two heroes parked the van on a shoulder, then raced into action. Buttercup grabbed Ace by the vest and leapt into the air, a streak of lime green trailing behind her. It wasn't the most comfortable way to travel, but not many people got to fight monsters with their girlfriend, who just happened to be a superhero.  
Buttercup flew up to eye level of the creature, who had electric blue and magenta fur, six blood-shot eyes, horns, and claws that looked to be made of metal.  
"Hey, ugly, how about we step out back? No need to wreck the place!" Buttercup called.  
The blue fur ball, who reminded Ace of a giant hamster/triceratops hybrid, either couldn't understand her or didn't want to. It picked up a handful of cars and hurled them at a building. The cars lodged in the side of the skyscraper, hitting it in a pattern that looked like a misshapen frowny face.  
"Well, can't say I didn't warn 'em." Buttercup muttered zooming after the trihamstertops and past frightened citizens. A thought popped into Ace's head as he spied a hairless, squishy patch of flesh on the creature's head between its many horns.  
"Hey, Green-eyes, how well wouldya say yer aim is?" Ace said, eyeing the spot.  
Buttercup smirked, she had seen it's bald patch, too. "Well, I'm a little bit rusty," she teased.  
She soared after the trihamstertops, aiming carefully for its fuzzy head. She didn't want to throw Ace at the monster, not because she was afraid of missing (she could always catch him), but she was afraid on impaling him on one of its horns. Instead, Buttercup dangled him carefully over the trihamstertops's bald spot. She mentally adjusted for speed and wind patterns before lowering the Gangreen Gang member on to its head, following quickly afterwards.  
The trihamstertops bucked and roared, and Buttercup grimaced. Their landing hadn't gone unnoticed after all... Luckily, the rough surface of the beast's horns proved to be sturdy and the green duo held on tight.  
Buttercup held on with one arm, moving skillfully about the creature's scalp until she reached the bald patch. The skin around it was bruised and oozing pus. Buttercup gagged, but continued forward. Buttercup didn't have a problem with getting a little dirty and was decidedly not a germaphobe,(having once not bathed for so long that even a giant sea monster hadn't wanted to fight her) but she really didn't want to touch the trihamstertops's injury, let alone punch it. It reeked of infection gone long untreated and smelled so awful it made her eyes water and her stomach churn.  
"Do you have a knife?" she called to Ace over the blue and pink furball's roar of anger.  
He nodded, reaching inside his vest for a switch blade. He leaned forward to hand it to her, but it slipped from his hand and fell several stories to the ground. Buttercup swore loudly, though her words were lost over the sounds of the beast's rampage.  
"Ah, screw it!" the green Powerpuff yelled, and plunged her arm elbow deep in the trihamstertops's wound.  
It popped with a resounding bang and blood and pus splashed on buildings, people,...and Buttercup. It kinda of reminded her of a big, hairy-  
"It was a zit! A big smelly zit!" Ace bellowed, laughing like an escaped mental patient, though he, too, was covered in gunk from the puke-worthy pimple.  
"And that means the monster is...a teenager?" Buttercup gaped.  
"OMG, thanks for the help! I, like, totally couldn't reach that zit myself!" the trihamstertops boomed in a surprisingly feminine voice.  
Buttercup glowered, folding her arms across her chest. Her right eye twitched as she said. "You wrecked Townsville because you needed help popping a giant zit."  
"I know, raaahhght! Wasn't it, like, absolutely enormous!" the she-beast crooned.  
"Just...get out of my city before I pop more than a few pimples." the Powerpuff Girl hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose in effort to stave off a migraine.  
"Alraahhhght, alraaahhhght. Message received loud and clear. No need to get all agro." the teenage trihamstertops rolled her bloodshot orange eyes.  
Buttercup picked Ace up by the vest again, flying away as the beast went back to Monster Isle.  
"I hate teenagers." Buttercup muttered.  
"But you're a teenager, Green-eyes." Ace smirked.  
"In name only." she grimaced.  
"Fight it all ya want, Buttercup, it's a fact o' life." Ace grinned.  
She stuck up her tongue in response and blew a loud, wet raspberry. "C'mon, let's get back to the van. This day has been off-track enough as it is."  
"Oh no, ya don't! We're hosin' ya done first before you even step foot inside the Green Death. She has real rattlesnake leather seats, ya know!"  
Buttercup was silent for a beat as she backtracked back to the rusty green van Ace loved so much, but then replied " Thanks for that. I really needed to punch something after the day I had. And thanks for letting me stay over at your place. You don't have to, you know."  
" 'S no problem, Green-eyes." she felt him shrug within her grasp.  
But to the ultra-superhero, it wasn't just "no problem", in the way that Ace wasn't just some guy to her. He might never know how much that day meant to her or how much it might help her in the comings months, but Buttercup did. She didn't know what would happen to her father or her family in the next year and a half, but she knew she wanted, no, needed Ace to be there for her when it happened.

We all have our own unique way of dealing with our problems, Blossom reflected. Buttercup was off with Ace, (had been for several days now) trying to stay away from everything and everyone that reminded her of her father, which was ironic, considering all Utonium had done for the Gangreen Gang. Bubbles was upstairs in their bedroom, sobbing herself silly whilst clutching her beloved stuffed octopus, Octi, what had been a present from the Girls' creator for their first "birthday". And Blossom was down in the basement laboratory, working side by side with her father.  
 _And the funny thing is, we're treating him like he's already gone. I'd hate to see just how much we'll fall to pieces when he really is dead.  
_ Wordlessly, she passed him a bottle of tar like gray liquid, careful not to spill any on her sterile, white lab coat. They weren't working to cure the Professor's cancer, at least, not yet. Instead, Blossom and the Professor were trying to create more Chemical X. As his last, selfless gift to his daughters, he wanted to restore their powers so Bubbles and Blossom could fight crime and save Townsville with Buttercup once again.  
Blossom had tried to persuade him to focus on saving his own life first, but Utonium had shut her down. He had said he'd try for it after restoring her and Bubbles's powers, but in the meantime, he'd let the doctors and medical science do their best. Blossom had nearly cried, again, wondering how anyone could still be so stubborn and think so little of their own needs whilst having a disease that was most likely terminal.  
 _How can even he be an optimist about this? How-  
"_Oh my- Blossom, look at this! I think...we've done it! After four hundred seventy-three attempts, we've done it! The Powerpuff Girls, all three of you, are back in action! Go fetch Bubbles; we need to test this batch out, pronto!" the Professor exclaimed.

Buttercup sat on the couch in Ace's house, her head resting on his shoulder as they watched some ridiculous B-movie from the '80s that he loved. Buttercup, however, thought it was the worst action flick in the history of the universe.  
"Oh, c'mon, that's not how you throw a punch! Don't tuck your thumb in, you'll break it if you hit someone! Seriously!? There wouldn't be anywhere near that much blood!" she shouted.  
Ace loved it though, watching her get that worked up over an old movie. A quick grin flashed across his face as the light from the TV screen washed his green skin in red light from an explosion.  
" No way! Just, no way! A car wouldn't explode that big if it only fell two stories!" Buttercup groaned, shaking her head at the movie.  
The end credits rolled, and the green Powerpuff sighed, glad the stupid excuse for a movie was finally over. "I'm picking the next one." she insisted.  
Suddenly, her cell phone rang on the coffee table. She picked it up, reading her sister's name on the caller ID.  
"Hello?" Buttercup sighed.  
"Buttercup, get over here, now. It worked it finally worked. We've got our powers back!" Blossom's voice shouted from the phone.  
"I'm on my way." Buttercup said, but not before Blossom had already hung up on her.  
"What is it, Green-eyes? Is the Professor okay?"  
"Yeah, yes, he's fine! But we're gonna have to cut movie night short." Buttercup said quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

Blossom and Bubbles flew out the door to greet the rusty green van that had just pulled into the driveway. Buttercup yanked off her seat belt, wrenched open the van's door with a sickening crunch, and flew out to meet her sisters. The three girls embraced midair for the first time in the nearly three years since they'd lost their powers.  
"So it worked, huh? The Professor finally did it!" Buttercup crowed.  
"I was sceptical at first myself, but it's been four hours and we still have 'em. Our dad really is amazingly. Too bad I couldn't persuade him to research a cure for himself." Blossom sighed.  
"So don't ask him to do it himself." Ace said, finally catching up to his girlfriend.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bubbles frowned at the ex-criminal.  
"It means _I_ work on the cure myself and I have a good idea of where I need to start. Thanks, Ace." Blossom said, a grin sliding across her face. She kissed Ace on the cheek, much to his surprise, and took off back into the house, no doubt headed to the laboratory.  
"What was that about?" the blue Powerpuff, often slow on the uptake, asked.  
"It looks like ol' smartypants big sis o' yours is puttin' her formal education to the test." Ace grinned.  
"Yeah, well, let's hope Miss Priss knows what she's doin'." Buttercup snorted, but she, too, was smiling.  
Blossom might be a bossy, stubborn, opinionated know-it-all, but she was also tenacious, smart, and passionate. If anyone in Townsville possessed the the persistence and know how to cure the Professor's cancer, it was Buttercup's sister. And if she needed help on her potential medical breakthrough, she would no doubt look through their father's address book for other scientists, doctors, and researchers hoping to beat back the disease as well. She would do it; she would have to.  
There was too much at stake, too many experiments lying around in his lab gone unfinished, too many things left unsaid or undone. So many days and advances in technology he would never live to see if his brain tumor had its way. And Buttercup was embarrassed to admit it, but she hoped the Professor would walk her down the aisle one day, if and when she and Ace ever got married. (She hoped they would. Screw the age difference.)  
"Buttercup, do you really think Blossom can save the Professor?" Bubbles asked, hope in her wide, innocent blue eyes for the first time since their father's grim announcement.  
"Yeah, Bubbles, I like to think she can."

It was nine in the morning and Blossom had been up all night, feverishly tinkering in her father's laboratory. Her eyes refused to stay open past tiny little slits and her head felt too heavy for her neck. She knew she couldn't stay awake much longer, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep either. Not with all the ideas bouncing around like basketballs in her sleep deprived skull.  
Blossom tried to think, to focus on her experiment and the vial of Chemical X clutched loosely in her shaking hand, but instead an absurd thought popped into her mind's eye. She imagined Utonium's cancerous brain crawling out of his ear and into the world. It put on a black fedora and grabbed an attache case from nowhere and took off into the distance. Blossom laughed until she was in hysterics, then started sobbing loudly.  
She packed up her night's work and left the laboratory, resolving never to stay up that long again. Except that she did, night after sleepless night for nearly two weeks. Finally, Blossom realized this wasn't the kind of work meant to be done by only one scientist, especially one still in college who wouldn't even be sixteen for three days.  
She went through the Professor's address book and randomly picked out the names of two scientists who sounded promising: Dexter McPherson and Doctor Rebecca Holiday. Blossom had read several research papers by both, and was quite a fan of Doctor Holiday and her research on the Nanite Event in particular.  
Dexter was busy with his work at DexLabs and said, in his strange Russian accent ( strange because he grew up near enough to Townsville that the Girls often ran into him), that he would be busy until next week, but would try to work it into to his schedule. He was apparently a great admirerer of Utonium's and of course, what scientist didn't want to be part of such an amazing breakthrough in medical science.  
Doctor Holiday had to get clearance from Providence to make the trip to Townsville and took a week to persuade White Knight to let her go. Though he still insisted she brought an escort with her, which as it turned out, consisted of two people. Agent Six and Rex Salazar, whom the Powerpuff Girls had fought side by side with on a few occasions. Blossom vividly remembered a ten-year-old Buttercup being enamored with Rex, who at the time was maybe a year or two older than the sisters, though she couldn't recall if the young EVO had reciprocated her feelings or not. She hoped his arrival wouldn't stir up any trouble or any old feelings the green Powerpuff might have for him.

The Girls' birthday party was greeted with the usual hubbub. The whole city showed up, baring presents and condolences for the Professor's illness. A monstrous cake with pink, green, and blue icing sat on a table next to an even larger pile of gifts in colorful wrapping paper. Despite that, Blossom seemed out of it, likely because she'd been up all night tinkering. The Professor, too, looked tired and sad, though he'd started chemo and had probably been puking his guts out. Bubbles and Buttercup put on their happy faces, which wasn't as hard as Buttercup had thought. (Which may or may not have had to do with the fact that Ace was there with her.)  
Buttercup wore a pair of combat boots, a pair of long, black, fingerless gloves that reached up past her elbows, fish nets, her old army jacket with the name "Utonium" stitched on the side, and a green and black tank top dress for the occasion. Bubbles had tried to do her hair, but she refused. She didn't want something silly like pigtails or bows in her hair after all. Bubbles wore a puffy blue dress that made her look like she was going to the Prom, star spangled pantyhose, and delicate black flats. Blossom wore her bow slightly askew, her hair in a messy ponytail, her dingy white lab coat covered a lacy pink thing that Buttercup suspected was her nightgown. Her pink hightops were covered in mud and looked nearly as awful as the fake smile she had plastered on her face. Basically, she looked like Buttercup felt.  
Buttercup knew Blossom was disappointed that she still hadn't discovered a cure yet. Overachiever that the red head was, she'd probably expected to have cured cancer just in time for their birthday party, not taking into account her youth and lack of experience. She hadn't even earned her Ph.D yet, but she wanted to tackle something experts had been attempting for decades. And if she and her group of nerds couldn't do it in time, she would blame herself for the rest of her life, because that's just who Blossom Utonium was.  
Buttercup was tempted to hug her triplet or to offer to take her back inside the suburban home and help her get cleaned up, but by then the guests had already started to arrive and it was too late for that. She had briefly thought about offering to help Blossom in the lab, but knew the pink Powerpuff would decline. Either as a pride thing, which Buttercup could understand, or because she thought Buttercup was too incompetent or whatever, which made Buttercup kind of angry. At least she had accepted some help...  
A hand tapped her on the shoulder, forcing her out of her thoughts with a jolt. She hadn't even realized her fists were clenched and at the ready, until her "attacker" said "Whoa, I ain't here ta cause trouble, Green-eyes. I brought ya a present."  
"Sorry, old habits..." Buttercup mumbled.  
Ace handed her a small, rectangular blue box, the kind that usually had a necklace or earrings in it. She didn't typically like jewelry, as it got in the way during a fight, but Ace knew what she liked. (Though if it had been Bubbles instead, she probably would've ended with hearts, rainbows, and unicorns.) Tentatively, Buttercup lifted the box lid, pawed off the tissue paper, and pulled out a ring. It had a thin, silver band that was strangely gnarled, like roots, and a large emerald placed in a setting that just so happened to be the grinning mouth of a silver skull. It gave the appearance of someone's offering to the ferryman, Charon, placed in their dead friend's mouth so that she might cross the River Styx... or that someone had been impaled in the mouth with a giant diamond. Whichever suits you.  
With a teasing grin, Buttercup placed the skull ring on her left ring finger.  
"Hey now, you'll ruin the surprise!" he laughed. _Maybe one o' these days I'll have_ that _kind of_ _ring for her..._ "D'ya like it?"  
"It's awesome! How'd you afford it?" the brunette asked.  
"Let's just say the guy at the jewelry store owed me a big favor. I saw it an' figured ya'd like it. I got Bloss an' Bubbles one, too, but neither of 'em are as cool as yours." Ace said.  
"Thanks! It's wicked!" Buttercup exclaimed and kissed him in front of everyone at the party, grabbing him by the front of the shirt and knocking him onto his back into the dewy grass as she did so.  
A few people wolf-whistled at the couple. Ace just laughed and Buttercup blew everyone a loud, wet raspberry in return.  
They picked themselves up from the lawn and headed over to the mountain of gifts. They stood next to a nervous and wired-looking Blossom as she carefully tore shiny gold wrapping paper off of what was obviously a book. Buttercup eyed the name "Doctor Rebecca Holiday" on the book's cover, before Blossom hid it in the folds of her lab coat, squeaking out a stunned thank-you to the gift giver, a woman in an orange sweater, spotless, white lab coat, and a clean, neat bun. Blossom seemed to recognize the green-eyed stranger, her mouth gaping like a goldfish that a careless child had spilled onto the floor. Buttercup didn't know her, but she looked like a scientist or a doctor.  
"But-but, you weren't supposed to be here until next week at the earliest!" Blossom said to the attractive older woman.  
"My research at Providence took less time than expected and Knight let me come early. Agent Six and Rex should be here any minute. They'd be here sooner, but Rex got into some...traffic." the woman spoke in a voice that said it wasn't traffic at all.  
"Lady, just who the heck are you and why does Blossom look like she's just blown a gasket?" Buttercup demanded.  
"My name is Rebecca Holiday, and you must be Buttercup. Rex has told me all about you."


	4. Chapter 4

Rex and Six showed up only a couple of minutes later. Six had been riding behind Rex, who had transformed himself into the Rex Ride. Six looked a little nauseous as he stepped away, but didn't so much as stagger as he moved to Doctor Holiday's side. Rex transformed back into a teenage boy and jammed his goggles on his forehead.  
"Yo, Salazar!" Buttercup called as she flew at the young EVO.  
She made like she was going to embrace him, but instead put him in a head lock and gave him a ferocious noogie that messed up his already spiky hair and knocked his goggles down past his chin. Rex pushed the orange and brown goggles back on his forehead. He cleared his throat then spoke.  
"What up, Buttercup? Long time no see. Here, I got you something. Happy Sweet Sixteen." he pulled a large rectangular object from the inside of his sporty, red jacket.  
"Whoa, it that an Old MacDonald's Angry Spore '95 hard cover trade with a one of a kind free poster?!" Buttercup gaped. She was blushing, but she didn't know why.  
"Not only that, but it's signed by Spore's creator." Rex said enthusiastically. He was also a fan of the undead anti-hero, which was partially why the two had bonded.  
Buttercup wanted to say something else, but was interrupted when Bubbles floated over squealing "Oh, oh! Did ya get me something, Rex, did ya? Did ya?"  
"I wouldn't leave you out, chica." he grinned, and produced a Rainbow Monkey from an admittedly bulging inside pocket. Buttercup wondered how he'd managed to keep it secure the whole ride there.  
It was round and white with an antenna on top of its head and an artificial grin sewn on its muzzle. It's white fur was mottled with rainbow colored speckles that matched the rainbow sewn atop its antenna. A headband with a tiny party hat perched on its head.  
"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! It's a limited edition Happy Birthday To You Rainbow Monkey! There were only ten thousand ever made! Gracias, Rex!" Bubbles kissed the older boy on the cheek and Buttercup was sure some of her hair went up his nose.  
The EVO and the blue Powerpuff briefly conversed back in forth in rapid-fire Spanish, though to Buttercup, it just sounded like gibberish and a lot of excessive "r" rolling. Blossom had ice breath, Bubbles was "born" able to speak Spanish and squirrel, and Buttercup...was the only one in Townsville able to curl her tongue. Typical.  
"So, did ya get Blossom anything?" Bubbles asked on her sister's behalf.  
"Well, uh, does bringing the Doc here count? She brought her an advance copy of her book, right?" Rex said nervously, scratching his head.  
He and Blossom had often butted heads, because Rex considered the pink Powerpuff to be annoying, inconsiderate, and grating and Blossom thought older teen was loud, goofy, and illogical. It was a good thing that he spent most of their various team-ups largely with the other two Powerpuff Girls instead.  
Rex and Buttercup had bonded; they liked a lot of the same comic books, action movies, TV shows, that sort of thing. Buttercup had developed a little bit of a crush on him, but she didn't know if he shared the same feelings. And she had been ten at the time and he only a year older, and because it had been before she'd lost her powers, she hadn't even had fingers or a nose. She totally could've understood if he didn't like her back. Still, Buttercup had always wondered if things had been different...She brushed the thought away. She was with Ace now and she liked to think she had found the proverbial "one".  
"So, how long's that been going on?" Buttercup jerked her thumb at Six and Holiday.  
The agent in the dark green suit and even darker sunglasses stood hovering protectively behind Doctor Holiday as she spoke with Blossom. It was both endearing and painfully awkward.  
"Awhile now, but I'm not sure he knows it yet. Six isn't exactly great with feelings or expressing them, but you've met the guy, so you know that already."  
"There's a difference between meeting someone and knowing them." Buttercup shrugged.  
"Speaking of meeting someone, I, uh, heard from a little birdy, and by that I mean Bubbles, that you're, uh, seeing someone now. Which one is he- or she, I'm not judging." he said it as though embarrassed and his face was bright red.  
 _Maybe he really did have a thing for me, too, after all. Well, that ship has sailed.  
"_The guy in the shades who's desperately trying to catch up to me. Yo, Ace, hurry up!" Buttercup said.  
"He's very... green. An EVO?" Rex asked.  
"I don't think so. I'm not really sure what he is." she shrugged.  
Finally, Ace jogged over, panting. (In his defense, Buttercup had flown way across the lawn to be the first to meet her old crush.)  
"Ace, this is my old friend, Rex Salazar. Rex, my boyfriend, Ace D. Copular." Buttercup introduced the two.  
"'S up." Ace panted, hands braced on his knees.  
Rex wasn't sure if the green skinned guy in the shades, who looked maybe two to five years older than Buttercup, was unimpressed or already tired out just from walking from the back lawn to the driveway. Ace also had long, somewhat greasy black hair, a widow's peak, two fangs that jutted out from either side of his mouth, and a thick accent that sounded like he was from somewhere in New York (... Brooklyn, maybe) and possibly of Italian heritage. (It was hard to tell with the green skin and the sunglasses obscuring part of his face.)  
"Hi," he said simply to Buttercup's beau. _Small talk, think, Salazar, think._ "So, how're things...Jace, was it?"  
"The name's Ace." the ex-delinquent grunted.  
"Right, sorry. So how did you and Buttercup meet?" The EVO asked. _Lemme guess, somewhere in the vicinity of a dark alley? And did you by any chance try to suck her blood?  
"_At a museum. Green-eyes helped me get a soda out of a vending machine. "  
"And then he tricked me into thinking we were friends and I had a shot with him. Then he and the rest of the Gangreen Gang tricked Blossom and Bubbles into coming to the dump, cuz they thought I was in trouble. Then I whooped their butts and saved my sisters." Buttercup added.  
"It sounds so bad when ya say it like that." Ace said in mock hurt.  
"That was what, ten or eleven years ago?" she frowned.  
"Yeah, 'bout." he agreed.  
"We didn't start dating until after I lost my powers, though. We had our two year anniversary a couple o' months ago."  
"So, your typical boy meets girl story." Rex joked.  
"After me an' the Gang went on the straight an' narrow ' bout four or five years back, Utonium helped us out big time. He found us a better place ta live than a crummy shack an' he helped us get better PR with Townsville's residents. So we started hangin' out at his place an' comin' 'round for supper.  
"Eventually, the town an' the Girls came around to us. I apologized ta Buttercup for what I done ta her and we became friends. Not long after, I realized I was startin' ta like Green-eyes as more'n just a friend.  
"I was there for her when they all lost their powers. I didn't push it, I didn't figure she could ever want to be with me, not after how I'd tricked her last time. I figured my likin' her in that way was some sorta ironic punishment for last time. Then lo an' b'hold, Buttercup makes the first move, an' the rest, as the cliche goes, is history." Ace elaborated further.  
"Huh." Rex said dumbstruck. _Maybe they aren't as weird together as I think they are?  
"_Buttercup can be a bit of a handful sometimes-" the green young man said.  
"Ha! You're one to talk, Copular!" the green Powerpuff snorted.  
"-But, it's part o' her charm." he finished as though he was never interrupted.  
Buttercup pecked Ace on the nose, and Rex felt something raw and angry twisting in and around inside of him. Was it...jealousy? If he wasn't careful, he'd transform and pummel the punk.  
Rex kept his cool during the rest of the party, but stayed as far away from the happy, green couple as he could. He didn't want to hurt his old friend's feelings, but he couldn't stand to see her with Ace any longer.

After all the presents had been opened, the food had been eaten, and the party had ended, Blossom and Holiday made plans to work together in the laboratory the next day. Though the other scientist, Dexter McPherson, had yet to arrive and wouldn't until the middle of next week, Holiday thought they might be able to make some headway in making the cure despite his absence. Blossom agreed, but that didn't mean she wouldn't do some late night work in the lab anyways.  
The three Providence agents went to the hotel White Knight had booked for them, and the Utonium family, plus Ace, settled down in front of the T.V. for a few more hours before going to bed. Blossom "slept" on a cot in the lab, the Professor slept in the master bedroom, and Bubbles and Buttercup slept in the Girls' mutual bedroom.  
Ace had been staying over and sleeping in the guest bedroom the last few weeks, leaving the dump, and no doubt the Gangreen Gang, to fend for themselves. Blossom figured they'd last a few more days without their leader to babysit them and then they'd resort to cannibalism.  
He was surprisingly good at helping out around the house and getting the Professor to his chemotherapy sessions and his various other hospital related appointments. Ace also had a soothing effect on Buttercup when she became antsy or stressed. Blossom often heard her sister scurrying into the guest bedroom at night, but as far as her super-hearing allowed her to tell, the two lovebirds stayed up all night talking and watching low budget action movies from the 1980's.  
Blossom was happy for her triplet, and didn't really care what went on in there, but she didn't particularly want to end up an aunt at sixteen. And in any case, Blossom was just as likely to be reprimanded by their creator for staying up so late to work on curing his cancer. He'd probably say he wasn't worth the effort and lack of sleep, resigned to his fate as he was. Blossom would be happy to remind him of why she was spending sleepless nights down in their shared laboratory and that he wouldn't be the only one to benefit from a cure to the insidious disease. And that he would do the same thing if one of his daughters had cancer; that he would try his hardest to let them grow up and have a full life.  
Blossom wouldn't give up on her father, even if he'd given up on himself. No matter what, she couldn't bring herself to fail the Professor that way. He certainly wouldn't do that to her, Buttercup, or Bubbles. The overworked and exhausted pink Powerpuff told herself that each night when she started to feel too tired to keep working. Then she chugged down twenty-four ounces of pure caffeine and sugar and dove right back into her work.  
Blossom passed out on her cot around 6:42 A.M. and slept until Rebecca Holiday arrived at exactly 10:15 A.M. Then the two scientists, one young and still in college, the other mature and the author of many books, reports, and papers on nanite technology, started the process all over again.


	5. Chapter 5

They didn't make much progress that day or the next or even the day after that, yet Doctor Holiday remained optimistic. Blossom, on the other hand, was as frantic as a mother who'd lost her son in a shopping mall.  
"You have to be realistic, Blossom. Doctors and scientists around the world have been trying to cure cancer for decades, and you've only been at it for roughly two months. It could take years of research, observation, and experiments before we discover anything new." Holiday spoke calmly.  
"But the Professor doesn't have years!" Blossom croaked.  
The older scientist put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "And you need to stop being so hard on yourself. I know you're a superhero and you're used to saving people everyday, but curing a disease like cancer is a tricky business. You're an intelligent young woman, even I wasn't about to become a junior in college at sixteen, you're capable, super strong, and a bit of a perfectionist. You've already done a lot of good for your city, and I know you'll do even more amazing things as an adult. You're like Rex; you're not just any ordinary teenager. You were born to be a hero. Quite literally, in your case.  
" At your heart, though, you're a young woman who's terrified of losing her father. Of losing one of the few people who truly knows and cares for you. I can relate. My little sister, Beverly, turned into an EVO at a very young age. She was pronounced incurable, but I when I started working for Providence, I was able to persuade White Knight to let me keep her with me for observation purposes. I thought I'd lost her for good. She was my only sibling and the last connection I had to the world before the Nanite Event. And then Providence discovered a young boy who was able to control and use his nanites at will.  
"The only problem was, he was this scared, ten-year-old with absolutely no memories, no training, and very little control over his abilities. One day, a rampaging EVO escaped from the Petting Zoo and somehow he was able to get up close enough to touch it. I panicked and almost thought I was going to have to shoot it, but then he touched it and suddenly... a man in his forties stood in the EVO's place. Providence sent the man home to his family and he was fine, and seemingly nanite free.  
"No one could make out how he had done it, so I was to take a blood sample and look at it. I surmised from the little sample of his DNA that not only could he control his own nanites, but those of others as well. The others were dumbstruck, even Agent Six, though he didn't show it. Knight and several of the others saw a weapon to be used against EVOs, but I saw a child, one whom I would not allow Providence to use as their weapon. And I admit, I saw a chance for Beverly as well.  
"Nearly six years passed before he discovered Beverly, and though it took him longer than usual to rid her of her nanites, he eventually did. It took so, so long, but I got my sister back. She's about your age now, only a few months older really. I learned after waiting all those years that some things, (some might call them "miracles", but I'm a scientist and I don't believe there is such a phenomenon) are worth the effort and the wait. I'm not comparing a brain tumor to becoming an EVO, but I want you to know that there's hope and that you're by no means alone."  
Blossom quietly processed what Holiday had said. "That boy in your story, that was...Rex, wasn't it?"  
"Yes. He's told me that you two have never gotten along over the years, but he's a good kid. He can be a handful sometimes, but he's the closest thing I have to a little brother."  
"Could I...ask you something? About Rex, I mean?" Blossom hesitated.  
"Oh?" Doctor Holiday smiled knowingly.  
"Do you think he hates me?" Blossom blurted.  
Holiday was taken aback by her question. "Why would you think Rex hates you?"  
"Like you said, we've never gotten along and he thinks I'm bossy and- and..." The redhead rapidly replied.  
"You're just very different people with clashing personalities. Just because you don't get along with him...It doesn't mean Rex hates you. I'm not sure he hates anyone really, save for Van Kleiss and his cronies."  
Blossom had always loved reading Rebecca Holiday's research papers on nanite technology. She was not only struck by the scientist's intellect and resourcefulness, but also by her ability to sympathize with the EVOs she studied on a day to day basis. Holiday seemed to view them as the children, parents, kindly grandmothers, beloved pet, and human beings they once were, and not as the creatures they had become since the Event. Blossom had always hoped to meet Doctor Holiday one day, though under more pleasant circumstances than the ones they were facing now.  
Now that she got to meet the Providence scientist face to face, the pink Powerpuff found her to be kind, down to earth, and empathetic. She liked to think that they could be friends or colleagues, but that might've been a stretch. They'd known each other only four days, after all.  
"Do you think he and I could become friends, or at least get along better in the future?" Blossom mused.  
"That's up to the two of you, but I think you could work it out and get to know one another better. Rex is easy to get to know and most other young people seem to find him easy enough to get along with." Holiday hedged.  
Blossom nodded, her big red bow bobbing with her. She never seemed to take it off, even when it would become a hindrance. "I appreciate the advice, Doctor Holiday." she said formally.  
"Call me Rebecca or "Doc", everyone else does."

It was only two days later that Dexter arrived. Everyone seemed shocked by the genius's youth, formality, his Russian accent, which he seemed not to notice, and all his strange quirks.  
Anytime someone tried to shake hands with Dexter, he deflected them by adjusting his thick, blue-tinted glasses or by folding his arms behind his back. When he worked in the "lab-boor-uh-tory" with Blossom and Holiday, he first had to arrange the instruments, microscopes, beakers, vials, and liquids in a painfully neat order. When someone was about to ruin a fragile object or experiment, he would shout "Dee Dee!", then apologize, muttering something about an older sister who often wrecked his lab. At dinner time, he refused to take off his purple, latex gloves when he ate, even when they ate something messy like sloppy Joes or pizza.(Frankly, you were pretty hard-pressed to find him without those gloves.) He also had a fondness for vegetables, broccoli in particular, which Buttercup, Ace, and Rex found peculiar yet fascinating. Blossom suspected the young genius most likely had obsessive compulsive disorder, but thought it rude to ask if he'd ever been diagnosed.  
Dexter could be rude, arrogant, sarcastic, bossy, and patronizing, some times all at once, but he was a great asset in Blossom's search for the cure, and he wasn't so bad once you got to know him. Blossom suspected he only acted that way because he had often been discredited in the past by adults because of his youth. (He was the same age as the Girls.) It was a pity and a waste of such intelligence to put down simply because one is not yet an adult. Blossom grew to respect Dexter and everything he must have gone through to become CEO of his own company, and soon, even began to admire him.  
Buttercup and the other teenagers staying in the Utonium household soon took notice of Blossom's more-than-scientific interest in Dexter and teased her about it. Blossom ignored them for the most part, until one day Buttercup asked her "Hey, Blossom, when's the wedding, tomorrow?"  
"Dexter and I are merely colleagues working together in a close quarters environment. My interest in Dexter is purely to do with his knowledge and inventiveness, no doubt what investors saw in him when he got his very own _company_." Blossom said stiffly.  
"Oh, okay, his company. So _that's_ where you're planning on getting married. Let me make a note." the green Powerpuff mimed scribbling on a piece of imaginary paper.  
"Gee, Buttercup, I thought you were due to become Mrs Rex Salazar first." Blossom blurted, then flew up stairs to their shared bedroom, leaving a streak of pink light behind.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" her sister roared, then zoomed after her.  
Little did either Powerpuff Girl know that Ace had been walking past as they were having their conversation. He had been searching for the keys to the Green Death, his rusty old van, because he was due to take Professor Utonium to an appointment at the cancer treatment center. He did not have super sonic hearing so he didn't hear everything the two sisters had said, only Blossom's retort.  
 _Gee, Buttercup, I thought you were due to become Mrs Rex Salazar first._ It slammed around in his mind the whole ride to Utonium's appointment, leaving him thoroughly distracted. The Professor noticed his driver's eerie silence and poorly concealed worry.  
"Is everything alright, Ace?" Utonium asked with concern. By then they'd been sitting in the parking lot for seven minutes, the van's engine still noisily idling.  
"Yeah, everything's real swell, Professor," Ace lied. ", C'mon now, ya'll be late for ya appointment."  
Ace still felt uneasy as he sat in the waiting room. He played absently with the zipper on his vest and took off his sunglasses to polish them on his t-shirt at least three times. The others in the waiting room took notice of the anxious greasy haired, green skinned youth and avoided him. Many of them still remembered a time when the Gangreen Gang had been nothing but a bunch of punks and wisely tried not to make him mad.  
He reasoned with himself that Blossom must've been teasing Buttercup, her tone had sounded joking, but the remark bothered him more than it should have. Buttercup had told him about a guy named Rex she'd used to hang out with, but she'd never mentioned he was _the_ Rex Salazar. Or that he was funny, charming, and good-looking. There was a connection between Buttercup and Rex, you'd have to be blind not to see it. And they were closer in age and they liked a lot of the same things and-  
"Ace, it's time to go; my appointment's over." Utonium said. He was ashen faced and shaky and his hair looked like it was starting to fall out.  
Ace let the older man lean on him for support. "How'd it go in there?"  
"About as well as you'd expect. I still have a tumor and my prognosis is still..." Utonium's voice trailed off.  
"Has the chemo shrunk it at all?" Ace frowned.  
"It's only a few centimeters smaller." The Professor answered grimly.  
"That's good, i'nit?"  
" Unfortunately, it's one of the largest tumors the specialists at the center have ever seen. The chemotherapy sessions have done little to stop the tumor's growth or to relieve my symptoms. I'm most likely still going to die."  
"I'm sorry."  
"I've lived a long, full life and done everything I set out to do, it's not that I'm worried about. I wanted to see my girls grow up, accomplish their goals, and maybe even get married and start families of their own. I'm never going to see that now, let alone see their next birthday." Professor Utonium croaked.  
Ace guided him to the van and opened the door for him, then climbed in on the other side.  
"But Blossom, Doctor Holiday, an' that Dexter kid are workin' on a cure for ya. Maybe that'll pan out an' you'll get to see Bubbles, Buttercup, an' Blossom do all that good stuff." Ace said hopefully as he turned the key in the ignition.  
"It's not that I don't believe they can do it, but I- I'm not sure they'll be able to cure _my_ cancer in time. They're some of the greatest scientific minds out there, they'll cure millions if they can, but I'm not going to be one of them. Curing cancer... that could take them decades." he said it as though he was already long dead.  
Ace was silent. He wasn't much for false optimism and what Utonium had said was true; it really could take those science types decades, even with the advantages of modern tech and medicine.  
"Ace, if I asked you to do something for, would you? Think of it as one last favor." Professor Utonium said, smiling weakly.  
Ace winced internally. Even he couldn't say no to a dying man's last request.  
"Sure, if I can."  
"Take good care of Buttercup."  
 _If she even still wants to be with me now that Mr Fancy Pants EVO's come 'round.  
_ "She can take of herself, ya know that as well as I do." he said it a little more gruffly than he'd intended.  
"I meant emotionally. She takes loss harder than she wants to admit," the Girls' father paused, "Have the two of you been fighting?"  
"No." It was the truth. Things had been great between them.  
"What's the trouble then?" the scientist frowned.  
"Nothing. I... nothing at all." Ace answered.  
Utonium frowned again. He didn't want to pry if Ace didn't want to talk, but he also needed to know if Buttercup and Ace were having relationship problems. Utonium would get to the bottom of this, or his first two initials weren't P.L., which they were.

 _Buttercup wouldn't do that to me, would she? No, o' course not, Copular, ya moron. Now knock it off or ya gonna wreck the Green Death.  
_ The feeling persisted though, which made Ace feel ridiculous and paranoid. When, when had she ever given him any indication that she wanted to leave him? And if Buttercup did want to break up with him and date that Salazar guy, she would've done it already; Buttercup, unlike, Blossom was not the type to beat around the bush. He just needed to calm down, maybe sleep on it. Ace really didn't want to do something stupid that might make her want to dump him (even more).

Meanwhile, back at the Powerpuff Girls' suburban home...  
"Chug! Chug! Chug!" Buttercup cheered as Rex attempted to bolt down an entire two liter of cola.  
He almost drank the entire bottle, but the phone rang, distracting him. He accidently dropped the bottle on the kitchen floor, spilling the last few swallows. He gasped and spluttered for a moment then grabbed a handful of paper towels. Rex tried to mop it up, but succeeded only in smearing it all over the linoleum.  
"Aw, man, I think that's the hotline! Better luck next time, Salazar." Buttercup sighed.  
She zoomed upstairs to get it, leaving the EVO behind.  
"Hey, wait up! I wanna tag along!" Rex called, racing after her, the soda splatter completely forgotten.  
When Buttercup zoomed into the bedroom, she found Blossom and Bubbles already there, waiting for her. Blossom was speaking into the Powerpuff Hotline, which had been reinstalled after Utonium had restored Bubbles and Blossom's powers.  
"Hello, Ms- er, Mayor Bellum. No way! You've got to be kidding me! We'll be right there!"  
"What is it, what did I miss?" Rex planted, standing in the doorway.  
"We've got trouble. The Mayor says Mojo Jojo's been spotted wrecking the city in his Robo Jojo." Blossom informed the room at large.  
"Great, I've been looking forward to busting that big brain of his since..." Buttercup started.  
"Since he killed our step mom." Bubbles said solemnly, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.  
"Yeah, and he only added more fuel to his funeral pyre when he tried to kill me with that tainted Chemical X. I say we go out there, whoop Mojo's butt, and-" Buttercup added.  
"I can't go." the pink Powerpuff said quietly.  
They all gasped at her in shock and astonishment.  
"Whadd'ya mean you can't go. Mojo has taken people we've loved from us, he's tried to destroy Townsville, take over the world, turn everyone into dogs, and you're just going to sit here with your head in the sand?! What the hell, Blossom!" the green Powerpuff roared in her sister's face.  
"I can't go, because Doctor Holiday, Dexter, and I think we're on the verge of a breakthrough. Any time now, we could discover the cure and save the Professor!" Blossom shouted.  
"That's what you said last week and the week before, and you still haven't found anything new!" Buttercup snarled.  
" Come on, knock it off, you two!" Rex complained.  
By then Rex had wedged himself between the two to stop them from fighting, but Blossom still blew ice breath over him and Buttercup shot laser eyebeams in her sister's direction. Bubbles was surprisingly quiet, and Rex soon saw why when she floated back into the bedroom with Agent Six in tow.  
"What is going on up here?" Six demanded in his no-nonsense voice.  
"We can finally whoop Mojo Jojo's butt as a team and Blossom's flaking out on us!" Buttercup said on Rex's left.  
"I am _not."_ came Blossom's icy reply from Rex's right.  
"Are, too!"  
"Am not!"  
"Are, too!"  
"Enough. Blossom go back to the lab. Buttercup and Bubbles, go into the city. Rex, you'll be going with them to help with this "Mojo Jojo". Understood?" Six snapped.  
"Yes, Agent Six!" the three Powerpuff Girls chorused.  
"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have more important matters to handle than squabbles between teenagers." he left the room as suddenly as he had come in, Blossom trailing behind.  
When Blossom was out of earshot (or at least, Rex figured she was), Rex echoed something Ace had said to Buttercup months earlier "So, you think you can handle a team-up?"


	6. Chapter 6

The city of Townsville's skyscrapers were largely in ruins when the three heroes got there, though Buttercup wasn't sure if it was recent or if the city was still recovering from the teenage trihamstertops incident. She was just glad not to find any bodies lying in the rubble. She shuddered involuntarily at the thought as she, Rex, and Bubbles flew in closer to get a better look. Buttercup and Bubbles used their Chemical X given flight to swoop in closer to the destruction, while Rex used one of his "builds", which he dubbed "the Boogie Pack"; transforming part of his upper back into a metallic orange jet pack, complete with twin turbines and, oddly enough, grappling hooks.  
"Any sign of 'im?" Rex called.  
"Not so far!" Buttercup called back.  
"You know, I wish Knight woulda let me bring Bobo with us. He would've loved that rib joint over there," Rex indicated a restaurant with a caved in roof, "And his explosives expertise would be pretty handy right now." He referred to his EVO chimp friend, Bobo Haha, who also worked with him at Providence HQ.  
Buttercup winced. "Now might not be the best time to remind you that Mojo is a monkey, too."  
"Chimp, he's technically an ape." Rex corrected her just quietly that only she could hear.  
"Yeah, yeah, same difference. Spare me the technicalities." Buttercup rolled her large green eyes.  
"Ha! You sound like the Doc or that Dexter kid!"  
"Can't help it if they rub off on me. We've all been crammed into one house together for weeks now. It was bound to happen."  
"Guys, over here! I think I found a clue!" Bubbles shouted.  
The other two superpowered teens glided over to her. She was pointing at what looked the imprint of gargantuan tank tracks.  
"That's the Robo Mojo alright. C'mon, he's headed for the bank." Buttercup said.  
"Isn't robbing a bank a cliche these days?" Rex mused.  
"Only because it happens so much." the brunette replied.  
"It just seems so Saturday morning cartoon. _Hmm, well, I'm a supervillain, I better go rob a bank to fund my evil doomsday device. Mwhahaha!"_ the EVO said.  
As they followed the tracks, the evidence of Mojo's destructive wake became more and more pronounced.  
"At this rate, Mojo's gonna wreck the whole city by lunchtime." Buttercup grumbled.  
"Oh no, where will all the people and their cute little animals go?" Bubbles squeaked.  
"I dunno, a hotel if Mojo hasn't destroyed 'em all already." Buttercup shrugged.  
"It's so awful and mean. Why can't Mojo ever be a good little chimp? He has to ruin everything for everyone and try to take over the world." Bubbles sniffled.  
"He's never gonna be a "good little chimp", Bubbles. That's why we gotta take him down, for good this time. If not for anything else Mojo's ever done, then for Mom and for me." she answered.  
Bubbles lowered her voice, "Buttercup, are you going to kill him?"  
Buttercup had thought about it certainly. After Mojo'd disappeared, leaving behind three children and a man to grieve for the woman the evil little primate had murdered, Buttercup had fantasized about it daily. A few months later the need for vengeance had lessened, but only slightly. Mojo had gone missing the night he'd killed the Girls' stepmother and former kindergarten teacher, Laura Keane (though by then, she'd taken Utonium as her last name), and was thought dead himself. The Girls had given him quite the beating and then-  
Soon, however, Buttercup began to believe that Mojo was dead, too. How could he survive that? How could he have survived what had happened to him that night?  
Years later, after the Girls had lost their powers upon reaching their thirteenth birthday, Ace had found a secret stash of Chemical X, hidden in an abandoned warehouse. He said an anonymous caller had phoned in about the place. Buttercup foolishly didn't think anything of it.  
She secretly took some of it home with her, not knowing that someone had planted explosives in it. She took some later that night and, voila, she was a superhero again. Buttercup snuck out during the night to fight crime and fly around her city once again. However, after she fought her first monster in over two and a half years, she could've sworn she saw Mojo Jojo, or rather his large, striped hat, in the crowd. Then she went down, her stomach on fire. She thought she was going to die.  
She was in the hospital for weeks recovering from the damage the explosives laced Chemical X had done to her stomach. And every day, Buttercup vowed to rid herself of Mojo Jojo once and for all.  
Now that she was on the cusp of achieving her goal, she wasn't so sure. She'd heard that killing someone changed a person, and Buttercup was afraid if she did so, she'd be stooping to Mojo's level... or maybe, she'd be giving the genius monkey exactly what he wanted.  
"I... I really don't know, Bubbles." the green Powerpuff answered truthfully.  
"We're going to whoop the stuffing out of him, though, right?" the blonde asked.  
"Yes." Buttercup said firmly.  
As they came closer to the bank, Buttercup saw people screaming and seemingly fleeing for their lives. Before anyone could object, Bubbles pulled a photo from her dress pocket, and started flying in front of the scurrying civilians.  
"Excuse me, have you seen this evil monkey? Hey wait, you didn't answer my- well, that was very rude."  
Bubbles floated back up to Rex and Buttercup. "Well, they weren't very helpful." she sighed.  
"Duh, you shouldn't get up in people's faces when they're running for their lives. You should know that by now." Buttercup rolled her eyes.  
Bubbles left out a "hmph".  
"Look, over there." Rex said urgently.  
Buttercup saw smoke in the distance. "No way, the city was set to demolish it last month. Too obvious..."  
"What is it, sis?" Bubbles asked.  
"Mojo. I think he's back at his lair."

As soon as Buttercup saw the roof of Mojo's volcano top lair, she hoped she was wrong. There were too many bad memories associated with this place. She wished Mayor Bellum would give the go ahead to have it demolished.  
They flew through the hole in the roof, left over from the Powerpuff Girls' last visit. As Buttercup looked at her surroundings, a wave of deja vu hit like a blow to the gut. It was dark and eerily quiet and nearly all the equipment was broken. She skirted around a pile of broken glass and underneath a large ribbon of police tape. A blood splatter covered one wall and on the ground beneath it was an undisturbed chalk outline, where their stepmother had once lain, cold and bloodied.  
Buttercup had hoped never to visit this place again, but she'd come to realize that the saying "you can't always get what you want" had some meaning after all.  
"Buttercup," Bubbles said, "Can we leave as soon as we can?"  
Buttercup nodded, relieved that she wasn't the only one anxious not to dwell here for very long.  
"We'll scope the place out as quickly as we can, an' if we can't find Mojo, we'll leave. We need to split up though, it'll cover more ground that way, I mean."  
"Do we have to?" Bubbles whimpered.  
Bubbles was still as big a scaredy cat as she had been when the three sisters had been in kindergarten.  
Buttercup pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation, trying to ward off the migraine being back here was giving her. "Look, if it makes you feel better you can go with Rex or whatever."  
"Por favor?" Bubbles asked the older boy, giving him her best anime eyes.  
"Aww, how can I resist when you're making that face?" Rex grinned.  
Bubbles and Rex got along well. Maybe it was that they were both friendly and outgoing or that they both spoke Spanish. Buttercup didn't really care, though she often wondered if her sister had a thing for her old crush. (Though Bubbles was overly friendly with just about everyone.)  
Not that Buttercup cared. She was over Rex and had been for years. If what she'd had with Ace for the past two years wasn't real love and devotion, she'd be a chimp's uncle.  
They drew straws for who would go where. Bubbles and Rex got Mojo's living quarters and vault, while Buttercup got his lab. Buttercup personally thought she'd gotten a better deal, after all, that's where most evil scientists spent their time. In their laboratory, cooking up evil schemes and new inventions.  
However, Buttercup was soon disappointed. Mojo's laboratory was dark and dusty and probably hadn't been visited by anyone in years. It reeked of emptiness and neglect.  
 _I'm not gonna find Mojo in here, unless.. x-ray vision, duh!_ Buttercup could've kicked herself for not thinking of it.  
As she surveyed the lab a second time, Buttercup realized that nothing about the place was at all how it had seemed.

Blossom was very nearly throwing a tantrum. She threw lab equipment literally across the room, peppered the walls with holes from her laser eye beams, then sank to the floor, sobbing. Doctor Holiday ran over to soothe her, but Dexter stood back, hands clasped behind his back, observing.  
"It's not fair! We worked so hard on this and it was all for nothing! It didn't work! I've failed the Professor." the pink Powerpuff whimpered.  
"It wasn't all for nothing, Blossom. We'll have learned something from this and be able to use it when we start back over." Holiday said gently.  
"I've failed the Professor." Blossom repeated.  
"You should not be so afraid of failure, Miss Utonim. Without failures or accidents, some of science's greatest achievements would never have happened in the first place. Without an accidental dose of Chemical X, we might not be having this conversation right now. Now, pull yourself together so we can get back to back to work or there will be no cure for your father." Dexter snapped.  
Holiday glared at him for sounding so insensitive and internally winced at the way his accent pulled and twisted words, adding and mangling extra syllables. Yet Blossom wiped away tears, seemingly freshly determined and inspired. Sometimes all it took was for someone to yell at her a little to get her head back on track. It was probably why she worked so well with Buttercup.  
"Chemical X," Blossom said, a twinkle in her eyes.  
"We've already tried adding Chemical X. It did not work, as you no doubt recall." Dexter said, but he sounded somehow less patronizing that day.  
"No, not when combined with the rest of the formula, but what if we tried injecting it into the Professor by itself?" Blossom thought aloud.  
"Possibly, but there is always the chance it could instead increase the growth rate of the cancer cells or the size of the tumor itself," Doctor Holiday added.  
"Or it could simply give him soo-pear powers and do nothing at all for the cancer." the boy genius said, pushing his tinted glasses up higher on his nose.  
"I think if the Professor's willing to give it a whirl, we should try it." Blossom said confidently.  
"It could be incredibly risky, we should run some simulations first." Holiday said.  
"Agreed," Blossom approved, "Let's get to it."

The whole room, the dust, the dankness, and the sense of disuse were all a ruse. A cleverly designed hologram. And if the lab was set up that way, then so could be the entirety of Mojo's lair. Buttercup had to warn Rex and Bubbles before-  
Buttercup felt a blow to the back of the head that made her think of being hit with a steel girder. Her vision blurred and swam as she tried to turn around, but instead she sank to her knees and lurched onto her side. The last thing she heard was laughter and then...nothing as she fell into unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

_They crashed trough Mojo's roof, frantic to get in and out ASAP. He had Ms. Kea- Mom. They were supposed to be there seven minutes earlier, but it took longer than expected to find that much Chemical X. As far as Buttercup knew, it was the last few ounces of Chemical X left on the planet._  
 _They were only seven minutes late. What harm could seven extra minutes cause?_

By this time, Bubbles and Rex were frantic. They, too, had discovered that Mojo had been using holograms to cover his tracks and were worried that Buttercup had not come back.  
"You don't think-" Rex started.  
"Mojo's got her?" Bubbles finished, her words ending in a grating squeak.  
"...Yeah, she was supposed to be back here ten minutes ago. I mean, it's not exactly like Buttercup to be bright and early and on schedule, but this is-" his words were cut off by a distant cry.  
"Buttercup!" Bubbles squealed and took off in the direction of the sound. Rex followed after the streak of blue light, struggling to keep up with the tiny blonde.  
He zipped and dodged by ridiculously complicated traps, knocked off a few, ancient looking vases, and "accidently" stumbled and punched a few holes in the walls. The closer they got, the fewer shouts they heard, like someone was slipping into unconsciousness...or worse. When Rex and Bubbles finally reached the laboratory, the sounds had faded away altogether.  
Rex used his Smack Hands to flatten the door and he and Bubbles zoomed through. They broke apart the room trying to find the missing Powerpuff, but even with Bubbles's x-ray vision, she was still nowhere to be found. So they left Mojo Jojo's lab and searched the rest of his evil lair for clues.  
By the end of their search, however, the only thing they found was a few pieces of black hair in the laboratory...which happened to be stuck together with blood.  
"Oh no! Where is she? Where's Buttercup!?" Bubbles shrieked.  
Rex didn't say a word. He didn't know how to say anything, to comfort the younger girl. He pushed his goggles on over his eyes, set his face in a grim mask, and clenched his fists inside his gloves.  
 _What if Buttercup's dead?_

 _They crashed through Mojo's roof. Panting, Blossom proffered up the bag that contained beaker upon beaker of Chemical X.  
"We...have...it," Blossom said.  
"We...have the...Chemical X," Bubbles said.  
"Now give us...back...Mom," Buttercup said.  
"Now, puny Powerpuffs, I'm afraid you are late. By seven minutes, to be precise. You did not meet our deadline, which was agreed upon earlier. And I'm afraid your stepmother, whom you care about and hold so very dearly in your hearts, yada yada yada, had a _teensy _little accident. By which I mean, she is now deceased, because I killed her, because you were too late. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Mojo Jojo said with an evil leer.  
The chimp pulled a lever and the lights switched on. The sisters gasped in shock, horror, and outrage as they saw their ex-kindergarten teacher, lying spread eagle on the floor, surrounded by a pool of her own blood.  
Instinct took over.  
Bubbles raced over to Laura Kea-Laura Utonium's body, and cradled her stepmom's head in her lap, sobbing. Blossom went limp and shaky, dropping the Chemical X to the floor with a rough clatter. Buttercup rushed at their nemesis, fists in front of her.  
The green Powerpuff grabbed Mojo Jojo by the front of his cape with one hand, and starting punching him in the face, over and over, with the other. She left go of his cape for a moment then began to twist it around and around his neck, strangling him. She waited until he was blue in the face, then let go. As the mutated, green faced chimp gasped for air for a moment, Blossom flew over and the two sisters hit Mojo with a full burst of laser eye beams. Bubbles did not join in, she sat there, rocking back and forth, as she held their mom.  
Buttercup couldn't blame her. They were all traumatized by what Mojo Jojo had done, but Bubbles was the sweet, sensitive one and she would show the most outward signs of pain. Blossom would brood and some how blame it on her "inferior leadership skills", at least after they were done with Mojo. And Buttercup...would beat Mojo now and cry later.  
Blossom took a swing at Mojo's stomach, no doubt shattering a few bones in the process. He wheezed in pain. Mojo looked pitiful, covered in his own blood, tears, and snot, just the way their stepmother had probably looked before- Another burst of rage filled Buttercup, and her vision turned red. She pulled off the white and purple hat that covered the chimp's exposed and chemically engorged brain.  
"No, please, not my beautiful brain. I need that to think up ingenious evil schemes!" Mojo whimpered.  
Buttercup felt no pity for him.  
"I bet she begged, too." Buttercup said coldly.  
"Buttercup, stop it! You're going to kill him!" Bubbles yelled.  
Typical Bubbles. Showing compassion even for a murderer.  
"It's what he deserves. He killed Mom, he fu- he freaking killed her." Buttercup snapped. She wavered a moment, her arm still raised to hit Mojo. Then, she dealt Mojo a vicious blow to the brain. The light left his eyes and he went slack in Buttercup's grip. Buttercup dropped him in disgust on top of the bag of Chemical X beakers. The bag oozed grayish-black fluid.  
With a sinking feeling, Buttercup realized that Blossom had broken them. All the Chemical X left in the world, and the vials containing the miraculous substance had been accidentally shattered.  
"_Let's hope we don't need that any time soon." _Buttercup thought.  
Blossom tied Mojo up with strips of his own cape and placed him in the corner.  
"I- I'm going to call the police. Bubbles, Buttercup, you stay here and watch Mojo." Blossom told them shakily. She looked like she wanted to go off somewhere alone and cry.  
The other two Powerpuff Girls nodded.  
Blossom was gone less than ten minutes, but when she got back, Bubbles lay unconscious and bloody on the laboratory floor. Buttercup and Mojo Jojo were nowhere to be found._

"I don't remember much about that night, and maybe that's for the best. I remember Buttercup and Blossom beating up Mojo. I remember seeing our step mom dead and running to her. I remember Blossom going to call for help from the cops. After that, it gets fuzzy. I woke up the next day, and they told me our step mom was dead, Mojo was missing, probably dead, and Buttercup...Buttercup was staying with some friends until she felt better." Bubbles admitted.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it went down like that. I don't get lot of news working for Providence. I heard about it a week or so later from Doc. I wanted to go to the funeral, but there was a giant EVO rampaging through Seattle and I was... needed there." Rex said bitterly.  
"It's okay, lots of people showed up for Ms Kea- for Mom's funeral." Bubbles corrected herself.  
"No, it's not. I should have been there for you guys. For my friends. You were just kids, you shouldn't have had to go through that."  
"You barely knew us back then, Rex, and besides, you're only a year older than us. You were just a kid, too."  
"Just because I barely knew you and Buttercup...that doesn't mean I didn't care. I didn't have a lot of friends back then, and I still don't now. It's hard to make and keep friends in your life when the organization you work with is constantly isolating you; not to mention, always trying to weaponize you," Rex replied. "Sorry, I sounded ike a total whiney brat just then. I know that's how it was for you, too, growing up, but you started off a lot younger."  
Bubbles nodded, a small smile on her lips. "You're sweet, you know that?"  
Rex felt a flush creeping across his cheeks, though he didn't know why. The blue Powerpuff was like a kid sister. Sure, they got along well, but he never thought of her _that_ way. Not like he thought about Buttercup once upon a time; not like he still felt about her now. He tried not to cringe as he remembered the kiss Buttercup and Ace had shared at the Girls' birthday party.  
He didn't know why he felt such an aversion to Buttercup's beau, other than the fact that Ace was with _her._ Sure, the green skinned man-boy was older than her, by maybe two or so years, but he seemed like a good enough guy. And Buttercup and was crazy about him. You could see the love she felt for Ace in her big, green eyes every time she looked at him. Half of Rex hoped that Ace felt the same about her, and the other half felt a savage pleasure in thinking that he didn't.  
 _What the heck kind of friend am I? What am I gonna do even if they do break up? Wait for Buttercup to fling herself into my arms? That's just messed up. I haven't seen her in years, and I've had plenty of crushes between then and now, so why do I feel so territorial towards her? And why can't I just be happy that Buttercup is happy? This is stupid, so stupid. I need to stop thinking about this or I'm never going to be able to concentrate. I need to think straight if we're going to find her.  
_ "Wait a minute! Look, is that..." Bubbles said, pointing.  
Rex couldn't see very well in the gloom, but on the other side of the room, he thought he saw a lever. Without thinking, Bubbles flew and Rex ran to it.  
"Hmmm, should we- wait, Rex, don't!"  
On impulse, Rex grabbed the lever and pulled.  
The ground shot out from beneath them so quickly that neither hero had time to react. As Rex fell, he only had time to think: _Levers? Trap doors? Seriously, that is_ such _a cartoon villain thing to put in your lab.  
_ They hit the ground below with a thud that left Rex gasping for air. Bubbles, on the other hand, was on her feet and in the air almost instantaneously. She grabbed Rex by the arm, nearly wrenching it out of its socket, as she pulled him to his feet.  
"Thanks," the Latino grunted, "Where the heck... are we?"  
"I don't know. I've never been here before." the blonde admitted.  
They appeared to be partially underground, in a small, cave like area. The walls glowed with reddish orange light and was incredibly hot. It smelled of smoke, sulfur, and heat.  
Rex took off his jacket and tied it around his waist; he'd be crazy to keep wearing it down here. Bubbles stood stalk still for a moment, simply listening and watching.  
"It's not a hologram." she confirmed.  
"I never said it was." Rex muttered.  
They weren't just underground. They were inside the volcano.


	8. Chapter 8

"We're gonna have to fly around the whole way. There aren't very many ledges, and if you fall... You know, if you get too tired to fly, I could always carry you." Bubbles said the last part with a teasing grin that reminded Rex of Buttercup.  
They had tried to find the trapdoor that had lead them their in the first place, but it seemed to blend into the surrounding rock. Bubbles had been determined that if they couldn't find their way out, they could at least find Buttercup and Mojo Jojo. Rex agreed.  
They didn't have much of a plan. Find Buttercup, beat the snot out of Mojo, leave. It seemed simply enough, until you remembered that they were trapped down in a rather large volcano with no known escape route. As usual, Bubbles remained optimistic in her plan and in her sister's safety.  
It was all Rex could do not to scream at her for being so cheerful. _She could be dead. That Mojo Jojo guy could have captured and killed Buttercup. So why are you so convinced everything's going to be fine and dandy, Bubbles?_ Rex was in general an optimist himself, but he got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he thought about the green Powerpuff.  
"If Buttercup was hurt or- or worse, I would feel it. Buttercup's my sister and my triplet, I would know if something bad happened to her." Bubbles said softly.  
Rex wondered if she was a mind reader along with everything else or if she was just really good at reading faces and body language.  
"I hope you're right, Bubbles, I really hope you are."

 _Only a few minutes after Blossom left to call or, more likely, find a police officer, Mojo began to stir. Buttercup was about to see if he needed another serving of knuckle sandwich, when he rolled back over. He was still out. For now. Buttercup breathed a sigh of relief, and then joined Bubbles.  
Her sister rocked back and forth on her heels, hovering close to their stepmother's body.  
"How you holding up?" Buttercup asked, causing Bubbles to literally jump into the air.  
"I... I've been b-better." the blue Powerpuff sniffed.  
Buttercup nodded silently. " I'm gonna miss her, too."  
"W-we all w-w-will." Bubbles sobbed.  
Bubbles leaned into Buttercup, laying her head into her shoulder. Buttercup felt snot and tears sinking into her green dress, but didn't shove her sister away. She didn't know what to say and didn't want to lie and tell Bubbles it would all be okay, so she just stood there. Finally, Bubbles let go and hovered away.  
"I'll-I'll go guard Mo-Mojo n-now."  
Buttercup nodded, and watched the blonde float away in the direction of their nemesis. She opened her mouth to say something encouraging, but said nothing.  
Buttercup closed her eyes, blinking back tears. She could cry later, when they got home. She had to be strong for now. She had to be brave.  
As soon as both of the Powerpuffs' backs were turned, Mojo sprang into action._

Even in sleep, Professor Utonium did _not_ look peaceful. His skin was pale and shiny with sweat, bringing to mind a trout, just pulled from the water on a fishing line. His hair was falling out in clumps, and Blossom wondered briefly why he didn't just shave it off.  
"We should come back later when he's not sleeping." Doctor Holiday whispered.  
Dexter, however, either didn't hear her or ignored the more experienced scientist. "We might as well get it over with. Professor Utonium will sick as a dog even if we wait for him to regain consciousness."  
Before the other two could object, the bespectacled genius threw back his head and yelled "OOOHHH PROFESSOR UTONIUM!" right in Utonium's ear.  
The man bolted upright, visibly panicked. "What is it? Is there a fire? Is everyone okay?"  
"It is nothing like that, Professor Utonium. You see, we believe we may have a solution to your condition, and it's been staring you in the face for several months now." Dexter said, hands clasped behind his back for dramatic effect.  
"What? What is it?" Utonium said, puzzled.  
The boy genius took his hands out from behind his back. He was holding something in his gloved fists. Dexter raised his hands to the Professor's, and dropped the object in his waiting palms.  
"For the record, this was Blossom's idea. I thought it too risky, but it is the only lead we currently have. We be only proceed if you agree to the treatment, of course, Professor Utonium." the red headed boy said formally.  
Utonium stared at the vial of Chemical X cupped in his hands. His mouth gaping open like a cave, bordered by thirty-two, perfect white stalagtites and stalagmites.  
"What do you say, Professor? Dad?" Blossom asked, her large pink eyes pleading for him to say yes.  
"I- are you sure this will work, Blossom?" her father asked.  
"Admittedly, no. It's just a gut feeling, really, but... I believe it will work. It has to. I- I can't lose another parent." the pink Powerpuff said, feeling tears starting to fill her eyes.  
She hated being so emotional, especially in front of Dexter. She was supposed to be a professional.  
The Professor held out his arms, and Blossom embraced him, burying her face in his pinstriped pajamas. It was something Bubbles used to do when she was younger.  
"Doctor Holiday, what potential adverse effects are most worrisome?" Utonium asked.  
"Well, Professor Utonium-"  
"Please, call me Patrick Laurence."  
Dexter allowed himself a small chortle at that. _Hmm, Patrick Laurence, eh. I suppose that makes you Professor_ Plutonium _after all._  
"Well, Patrick Laurence, I'm concerned that that instead of eradicating your cancerous cells, the Chemical X could instead cause them to grow at a more rapid rate. It could also potentially give you similar powers to your daughters, but do nothing for the tumour. Or... it could do exactly as Blossom hopes it will and cure you." Rebecca Holiday stated.  
P.L. Utonium nodded as he stroked Blossom's tangled, gnarled mess of long, red hair. She really looked awful, he thought, she needed some sleep and a shower.  
"Dexter, what are your concerns?"  
"The same as Doctor Holiday's, really. Increased cancer cell growth, shortening what little time you already have, or powers, but no real help or cure for your cancer. I cannot say I agreed to this, but as I stated earlier, it is the one lead we have so far." the red headed genius said deliberately and bluntly.  
The Powerpuff Girls' creator nodded thoughtfully.  
"Could I have a moment to think about it?"  
"Of course." Holiday said.  
"And could someone bring Bubbles and Buttercup in? They need to hear this, too. It's going to effect them as much as it will me."  
They all gave him blank, stunned looks.  
"No one told you, Professor? Not Agent Six or Ace?" Blossom asked.  
"Told me what?" Utonium demanded.  
"We got a call from Mayor Bellum. Mojo is back and he's trashing Townsville. I- I had to stay to work on- your cure, so Rex went with them."  
If he'd been holding anything, it surely would've dropped to the floor with a bang. "No. They can't go after him yet, they're not ready."  
"What do you mean, Dad?"  
"You remember how Mojo made that batch of Chemical X that Ace and Buttercup found? Well, I think he may have been using it on himself as well."  
Blossom went pale and pulled away from her father. "Then I need to go after them. I need-"  
"No, sweetheart, you can't." Utonium said.  
"Why? Buttercup, Bubbles, and Rex need me out there! I-I would've gone with them earlier, except I stayed here with you to help brainstorm ideas for the cure and-and-" Blossom objected quickly.  
"Miss Utonium, your father is quite right," Dexter said. Blossom shot him her nastiest glare. "Have you seen yourself lately? You are not exactly in fighting shape. You have clearly not had a full night's sleep in months, nor have you eaten very much, and you have a certain...odor about yourself that suggests you have not bathed often either."  
"How dare you! My sisters and their friend are in danger and you're suggesting I stay here just because I have a few bags under my eyes!" Blossom yelled, thrusting her finger at the other teen's lab coat cloaked chest.  
"I never said your sisters and Mister Salazar would be without help. I will go in your stead. I may not posses soo-pear powers, Miss Utonium, but I think you will find that I am inventive enough to create my own." Dexter said matter-of-factly.  
She hated that option, hated the lack of control it brought. Could she really trust him to find her sisters and Mojo alone? "I-I...just... bring them back in one piece, okay, Dexter?"  
"If I can, I will." the genius replied, pushing his tinted glasses up higher on his nose.

 _Mojo leapt up, grabbing Bubbles by her shoulder. His claws dug into her flesh, drawing thin lines of blood. Bubbles tried to fling him off her, but he held on fast. Mojo slammed her head into the floor so hard, it should've cracked her skull. Bubbles's legs gave out and so did the rest of her body. It all happened in a matter of seconds, but it was enough for Buttercup. She had seen Mojo cause enough pain that night. Buttercup had no doubt that her sister was still alive, but anger heightened her senses and rid her brain of any other thought than to cause Mojo Jojo harm.  
She swooped down on him, grabbing the chimp by the cape. "Whaddaya say we take a trip outside, just the two of us?" the green Powerpuff growled as she pulled them through the hole in Mojo's roof.  
The green and black furred chimp kicked and flailed in mid-air, but he was no match for Buttercup's strength. She vaguely remembered hearing him curse her in overly long, detailed sentences, but she couldn't recall a word of it.  
Buttercup flew until they reached the ocean then hovered there a few moments. It was a full moon, high tide, and they were dangling three-hundred feet in the air.  
"You know, the beach used to be my favorite place to go as a family. Mom and Dad always looked so happy there; Blossom and Bubbles, too. We swam together, we laughed together. We were happy... And then you-you killed her. You killed our stepmom in cold blood.  
"Who does that to kids, even if they are your nemesises, or whatever it's called? Who just takes away someone's mother out of spite? I'm eleven years, and I don't have a mom anymore. Do you have any idea what it's like to lose someone who you loved and who loved you?  
"It's really kind of fitting that you'd end up here in a place that makes me happy. In a place that made _her _happy."  
_ _"Please, Buttercup, can we not reach a deal? Perhaps make a bargain, or set a price for my freedom and life?" Mojo begged in absolute desperation.  
"You know, maybe if you'd just kidnapped her, instead of murdering her, I would've cut you a break. I would've only broken half of the bones in your body. The fact is, you killed Ms Keane, my stepmother, just because we were seven minutes late with the ransom. And as if that wasn't unforgivable enough, you try to weasel out of responsibility, like a cowardly worm. So no, you don't have anything to trade me for her life and this is good-bye for now...Mojo Jojo." Buttercup said, her emotions barely in check.  
She loosened her grip on his cape and he fell into the ocean, screaming and cursing her entire bloodline. Buttercup hoped he would die there, but deep down, she knew Mojo would be back one day. However, that day was not nearly as far off as she had hoped..._

"Buttercup! Buttercup!" Bubbles called as they flew. Her only reply was the hiss and sizzle of lava below her.  
Frustrated as the blue Powerpuff was, she was not beaten or hopeless. She would find her triplet, even if she became an old woman first.  
The heat was intense, as one might well expect of a volcano. Bubbles found herself wiping sweat off her forehead every other minute just to keep the salty liquid from dripping into her eyes. She was tempted to tear off a strip from the bottom of her pastel sun dress to use as a headband, but it was one of favorite dresses and she couldn't bring herself to do it. Bubbles wished she'd thought to change first, but their decision had been so spur of the moment she hadn't had time to think about it.  
Townsville's volcano was active and it would be just their luck that it would pick today of all days to erupt.  
She scanned the "sector", as Rex had called it, she was searching once with her regular senses, looking, feeling, listening. Then when that failed, Bubbles used her x-ray vision. The blue Powerpuff spotted something almost immediately. It was small and most likely of little importance, but a clue was a clue.  
Rex spotted Bubbles zooming over to a small ledge and followed suite. It wasn't nearly large enough to land on, so the two heroes hovered close by. Bubbles clenched the object firmly in her tiny fist, careful not to drop it into the magma. She held it up to her friend's eye level wordlessly.  
It was a ring. The band looked rough and gnarled like tree roots, the setting was a silver skull, an emerald protruding from between its tooth. Rex nodded, not needing to ask. It was the ring Ace had given Buttercup at the Girls' birthday party, so long ago.  
Which meant that Buttercup had been through there and maybe, just maybe, she was nearby.  
"That's not all. If you peak at the wall behind where the ring was (well, if ya had x-ray vision, anyways) there's an itty bitty hollow area that looks like maybe a door or some kinda entrance maybe."  
"Are ya thinking what I'm thinking, B?" Rex asked with a sly grin.  
Bubbles cocked back her tiny fist and struck the inside of the volcano with all her might.


	9. Chapter 9

_Ace D. Copular hadn't been expecting anyone to show that day at the junkyard, let that a_ Powerpuff Girl _would show up on his doorstep, tears in her eyes. He was about to yell to the other members of the Gangreen Gang to get over there when she did the unthinkable: she leapt at him, crushing him into a tight embrace. He felt tears soaking into his shirt and heard her sniffling. Ace was left stunned, standing silently as Buttercup Utonium, a girl he had once used to try and defeat the Powerpuff Girls once and for all, cried into his favorite, grimy t-shirt._  
 _"Uh, c'min I guess, Buttercup."_

Bubbles felt the rock beneath her fists cracking and crumbling; hurt the hiss of lava as large fragments fell into the volcano.  
"Just a little more. C'mon, you can do it, Bubbles." Rex cheered her on.  
He had offered to help smash the wall that was potentially separating them from Buttercup and Mojo Jojo, but Bubbles had turned him down. She had told that it was hard enough on him keeping the Boogie Pack going in this heat, let alone adding another build to the mix. Rex agreed, but he still felt a little guilty he wasn't helping her. Not that the volcano was proving to be any trouble for Bubbles.  
"Punch, crunch, fall, repeat. Punch, crunch, fall. Punch, crunch. Punch," Bubbles mumbled to herself. The rhythm was oddly soothing to her and it gave her something to concentrate on other than the extreme heat and the fact that Buttercup could be-  
Bubbles gave the wall one final punch then spun in circle, whirling back around to administer a roundhouse kick. It crumbled, falling into the magma almost instantly.  
"Oh, wow," Rex whispered as he stared into the misshapen hole in the volcanic rock.  
Bubbles let out an ear drum shattering scream.

Back at the Utonium household, Dexter was suiting up.  
"Computress, upload sequence Ricochet Optimus Andromeda Rorschach to the Dexo-Suit."  
"But, Dexter, R.O.A.R. has never been properly tested in the field. The environmental controls are still on the fritz-" Dexter's A.I. replied from the small unit on his wrist.  
"I am well aware," the red head snapped. "But there is no time to test it out. We could be too late already. I cannot fail Bloss- um, I cannot fail Professor Utonium."  
Computress either ignored the slip up or thought nothing of it. "Proceeding with update." It almost sounded like she (Technically, Computress had no gender, but Dexter had created her with a female voice and that was what he always thought of her as.) sighed at the boy genius, but that was impossible; Dexter had never programmed her with the ability to show annoyance.  
" _Commencing, fifteen percent, thirty-five percent, fifty-seven percent, seventy-nine percent, ninety- error, error._ R.O.A.R. will not load past ninety-two percent. Shall I initiate reboot sequence, Dexter?"

"Negative, it will have to do. Activate rocket boosters on my mark. Three...two...one...liftoff!"  
It was not the first time Dexter McPherson had launched himself into the air, but it was certainly among the most thrilling and potentially life-threatening.

" _What'sss the big idea, bosss? What in the hell are you thinking, letting a Powerpuff ssstay here?" Snake demanded._  
 _"Oh would all of youse relax! Buttercup's harmless. Look at 'er, she's too busy bein' all teary eyed ta annihilate any o'us."_  
 _"And what if it's a trick to make usss let our guardsss down long enough for her to get the jump on usss? What then, Acccce?"_  
 _"Look, I know how gals like this think, 'kay. She don't cry fer nothin' 'less something's really wrong." Ace snapped, jabbing a finger at Snake's skinny chest._  
 _"And if you're wrong, if this goesss sssouth, if ssshe'sss here to do usss in, thisss isss on you,_ **bosss man.** _" Snake threatened coldly._  
 _"Careful, Snake, ya keep talking like that an' I might send ya packing back to where youse came from. I'm sure ya folks would be delighted ta see ya after all this time."_  
 _Snake recoiled. "You. Wouldn't. Dare."_  
 _"The hell I wouldn't. Ya don't get ta go ' round underminin' my authority without expectin' consequences, e'en if ya are m' right hand man, or rather, reptile." Ace said calmly, but it was frightening kind of calm._  
 _The other members of the Gangreen Gang felt a shiver go down their collective spines. Ace could go from charming to understanding to terrifying in five seconds flat, it was one of the things the Gang admired most about their leader._  
 _"Now, do any of the rest o' youse have any complaints ' bout Buttercup's stayin' here fer awhile?" It was not a question, not really._  
 _Big Billy, Little Arturo, and Grubber said not a word, but Snake stood up, fuming and walked right out the door._

It was at once horrifying and a relief to find Buttercup. She was pale, her clothes were torn, she had cuts, nicks, and bruises all over her exposed skin, but most worryingly, her lips were blue and there was a nasty gash on the back of her head.  
"She's not breathing." Bubbles said in a dull tone of voice.  
Rex realised she was in shock.  
"Hey, hey, Bubbles, look at me. It's not over yet; she's...she's still got a pulse. I can give Buttercup CPR -they gave me training over at Providence- and get her breathing again. Just let me try, okay?" Rex said urgently.  
"Okay." the blue Powerpuff whispered. Bubbles was shaking silently, though she didn't seem to notice.  
He gave Bubbles's hand a gentle squeeze, then walked purposefully towards Buttercup. He untied his jacket from around his waist and placed it under her head. (The jacket was red anyways, he had reasoned, no one will notice a little- a lot of blood.)  
Rex smoothed back the short black hair from her face. She didn't look peaceful, not like they always described people who were sleeping or worse. Buttercup looked like she'd been through hell and back. Her skin was so cold, so white.  
"Hang on, chica. Please, just a few more minutes." Rex thought.  
He pinched her nose shut and placed his mouth over hers and exhaled twice. Nothing, and her pulse was growing fainter. He tried chest compressions three times and then went back to mouth to mouth.  
"C'mon, Buttercup, breathe!" he thought.  
Rex was about to start compressions again when he heard a gasp of air. Buttercup's eyes were open wide and she looked angry.  
"Hey, you're-"  
She bolted upright and slugged him in the face.  
"Don't ever try to kiss me like that again."  
"Buttercup! You're alive!" Bubbles squealed, now out of her stupor.  
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" the green Powerpuff asked defensively.  
"You weren't breathing and Rex had to resuscitate you." Bubbles exclaimed.  
"Oh. Sorry, Salazar." Buttercup grimaced.  
"S'kay," Rex said, clutching his jaw. She had technically broken it, but the nanites in his system were healing him at exponential rate. "Not like I was saving your sorry butt or anything."  
Buttercup ignored him. "What happened? The last thing I remember, I was in Mojo's lab. It's all fake, holograms. He never abandoned this place. He must've been up here all along, just biding his time."  
"We know, the rest of his lair was like that, too. I guess it was too much to hope Mojo really was gone forever." Bubbles said.  
"How'd I get here and- hey, where's my ring? If I lost that I..."  
Rex pulled the skull ring out of his ruined jacket and handed to Buttercup. She nodded her thanks.  
"I guess Mojo got the jump on you before you could get the jump on him. Oh, and you'll never guess where the little creep took you." the young EVO said.  
"Where?" Buttercup frowned suspiciously.  
"Take a look for yourself."  
Buttercup climbed shakily to her feet. Rex offered her a hand, which she took gratefully. She and Rex limped to the hole Bubbles had knocked into the wall. In hindsight, they could've just tried to find the lever or door handle, but Rex could understand why Bubbles had wanted to do that.  
"Holy- sunuva- we're _inside_ the freaking volcano!?" Buttercup yelled.  
"Now imagine falling down _into_ the friggin' thing and landing in some weird cavern thingy." Rex said.  
"What the fu- how the- how did you manage to do that?"  
"Oh, I used force, kinetic energy, and the good old-fashioned sense of impatience, and wham! We ended up looking for you here of all places." Rex grinned.  
"Just as I, the new ruler of this puny planet, planned for you to do. For you see: I. Am. Mojo. Jojo! Mwahahaha!" A voice rang out from behind him.  
The heroes turned to face Townsville's greatest enemy.  
"So that's..." Rex began.  
"Mojo..." Bubbles said shrilly.  
"Jojo." Buttercup said, enraged.  
"You know, I thought he'd be taller." Rex said.


	10. Chapter 10

They stood in heated silence, all four of them. Bubbles and Buttercup floated a foot off the ground, fists clenched, murder in blue and green pairs of eyes. Rex powered up the nanites in his system, getting ready to bring out whatever build the situation required. And Mojo Jojo, the most evil, conniving, diabolical, villainous chimp that ever lived? He just laughed.  
"You foolish imbeciles, I have had this scenario planned out for years. That is to, I am most readily prepared for anything you puny Powerpuff Girls can throw at me- Wait just a moment, where is your leader? Where is Blossom, and who is this young upstart with those ridiculous Tron pants?"  
"Rex Salazar, but you can call me Generator R-"  
"Never heard of you. You must not be very impressive if I, Mojo Jojo, have never once laid eyes upon or heard of your no doubt sickeningly heroic deeds." the green chimp scoffed.  
"Aw c'mon, dude, haven't you watched the news _at all_ in the last couple o' years? I work for Providence, I fight EVOs, probably saved the world a couple times..." Rex said.  
"Not ringing any bells."  
"Seriously? I-"  
"Enough! It's time we treat this chimp to a platter of knuckle sandwiches!" Buttercup yelled, then charged.  
The instant her fist made contact with his hairy face, a burst of agony shot up her arm. The green Powerpuff cried out despite herself.  
"Buttercup!" Bubbles squealed.  
Bubbles lunged for him, driving an elbow into Mojo's gut. She squeaked shrilly, clutching her arm, a purple bruise already spreading across her elbow.  
"Puny Powerpuffs, did you really think if I had the ability to make Chemical X that I would use it only to try to kill you? No, of course not. That would be foolish! I, of course, knowing that there was a possibility that my tainted Chemical X would not do you in, decided to take some for myself! Mwhahahahaha! That would be most foolish and very unlike a genius to do, and I, Mojo Jojo, am nothing if not ingenious!" Mojo chortled.

Dexter was falling through the sky inside the Dexo-Suit, the booster rockets were sputtering and going out.  
"Dexter, flight systems are failing. We must proceed to land." Computress's voice sounded over the alarms and warning lights flashing inside the Dexo-Suit.  
"Negative, we must continue on our flight path. We are almost there." Dexter responded.  
And indeed, Mojo Jojo's volcanic lair was within sight.  
"Computress, set auxiliary power to boosters, we need the speed. We need to land on, in, or beside Townsville Volcano Mountain or this whole test run will be for naught!"  
The Dexo-Suit surged forward on its last sputtering breath, crashing through the hole the Girls had left in Mojo's roof years earlier and kept falling and falling, until-

A resounding clang interrupted Mojo mid-gloat."What was that?" They all said simultaneously. A giant mech ( not that dissimilar to the D.Y.N.A.M.O. the Professor had once built for the Girls in a fit of overprotectiveness) hurtled through rock over their heads, falling at a diagonal angle towards them. Rex, Buttercup, and Bubbles skillfully dodged to the side, but Mojo wasn't lucky; the mech landed directly on top of him with a sickening crunch.  
At this point, our three heroes were incredibly jumpy and ready for just about anything, so when the mech's hatch opened, they punched first and asked questions later.  
"Stop! Stop! You fewels!" Dexter cried, slapping his glove clad hand at them in vain.  
"Dexter? What are you doing here?" The three heroes exclaimed.  
"And what's a fewel?" Bubbles frowned.  
"Pretty sure he meant "fools"." Rex said.  
"Oh. That makes sense- hey!" the blonde squeaked.  
"Blossom and Professor Utonium sent me to warn you about-" Dexter began.  
"What, Miss Priss couldn't come here herself?" Buttercup glowered.  
The red headed boy ignored her. "-It appears that there is the possibility, no matter how small, that Mojo Jojo has been dosing himself with his own homemade Chemical X."  
"Yeah, he kinda let that out when we were trying-and failing-to pummel him." Rex said.  
"What is this, a Saturday morning cartooon? Honestly, what next, is he going to reveal his entire evil scheme just in time for the three of you to thwart him? Ha!"  
"You know, I get the impression he was just about to do that before you crashed in on us." the young EVO replied.  
"Speaking of Mojo, where the heck is he?" Buttercup asked.  
"Uh, guys, I think Dexter squished him with his mech...thingy." Bubbles gestured to a swathe of purple fabric sticking out from under the boy genius's invention.  
"It's called the Dexo-Suit." Dexter said automatically, pushing his tinted glasses higher up his nose.  
"Really, cuz I call it a case of narcissism." Buttercup stage whispered.  
"Why, Miss Utonium, I did not know you had it in you to learn such big words. With all the space it must've taken up for you to learn it, you may have forgotten other things. That must explain your table manners." he said with mock politeness.  
"You'd think someone with genius level intelligence would be able to come up with better insults," Buttercup yawned in his face, steaming up his glasses.  
"You," Dexter said, as he wiped the steam off his glasses. ",Are very rude."  
"You," Buttercup said, mimicking his tone and out of place Russian accent. ",Are one to talk."  
Dexter stuck out his tongue at the green Powerpuff, a gesture she soon returned.  
The genius and the ultra-superhero became so busy bickering and making faces at all each other, that no one noticed something squirming under the Dexo-Suit until it was too late.

 _It was the day of her stepmother's funeral when Buttercup finally left Ace and the Gangreen Gang behind at the dump. If she hadn't seen the announcement in a newspaper clipping, she never would've known it was today.  
She didn't bother saying goodbye to the Gang in person. She just left a note (thanking them for not kicking her out) on a table somewhere she knew they'd find it, if any of them could read anyways. And then, she flew home to get ready.  
When she rang on the doorbell, Buttercup heard a muffled croak of "I'll get it!" Blossom, wearing a black dress with a pink sash and her usual red bow, opened the door and gaped at the sight of her sister.  
Blossom broke down and hugged Buttercup, despite the fact that she hadn't bathed in days and was covered in dirt and dried blood.  
"I thought you were dead. Where were you?" the redhead sobbed into Buttercup's shoulder.  
"I was with friends." Buttercup said, her voice hoarse from disuse.  
"Professor! Bubbles! Get down here! Buttercup's back and she's okay!" Blossom yelled into the doorway.  
But Buttercup wasn't okay, not really. None of them were._

With a twisted crunch, Mojo Jojo hurled the Dexo-Suit through the air. Having just been landed on by a robotic suit, he was not in the best of shape, but the Chemical X inside of him was healing his wounds rapidly.  
Before plowing its way through volcanic rock and plunging into the lava below, the suit had just enough time to smack into Rex. He was knocked backwards, and was sent soaring into the air. He couldn't think, let alone concentrate long enough to react or transform part of his body into one of his builds. He could feel the pain, feel himself falling, just a second before he was thrown after the Dexo-Suit, towards the boiling magma.  
"NOOOO!" Buttercup and Bubbles cried out over Mojo's laughter.

 _It wasn't until a few hours after Buttercup left that Ace found her note, and until then, he hadn't known why she'd come to see him of all people. She'd hardly spoken more than a few sentences during her stay at the Gang's hideout. With a sinking feeling, Ace read and re-read Buttercup's messy, slanting handwriting.  
_ _ **Ace,  
Not that you care, but I'm sorry I showed up uninvited. You coulda kicked me out whenever you felt like, but you didn't. Thanks for that. I guess. I'm leaving now and I'm probably not going to be back any time soon.  
Ms. Keane, my stepmom, her funeral is today. I have to go to that at least, let Bubbles and the Professor know I'm still o.k. and that Mojo didn't kill me, too. I don't need them thinking they lost two people that night.  
**_ **Might** _ **see you around, might not. We'll see how it goes,**_ _  
_ _ **Buttercup**_ _  
_ __ _Ace felt something inside of him shift and change. Was it sympathy, empathy, one of those girly emotions his old man had tried to beat out of him as a kid? Was it grief for the woman who'd been his teacher for but a day, or sorrow for the girl who put on such a brave face, a facade of steeliness, who'd lost her mother? He felt tears in his eyes and took his sunglasses off to wipe them away.  
He thought he knew what he needed to do. He woke up the rest of the Gang and called a meeting._

Luckily both of the Utonium sisters had amazing reflexes.  
Buttercup dove after Rex, catching him an instant before he could hit the surface of the magma. In the same moment, Bubbles tackled Mojo to ground, holding his arm behind his back, ready to snap his arm as soon as he so much as winced.  
"You okay?" Buttercup asked her friend as she set him down.  
"Oh. Wow. I could kiss you," he said.  
"Don't." the green Powerpuff said dryly.  
"You, how dare you! Have you any idea how long it took me to build the Dexo-Suit, let alone program it? Three months of research, another three for planning, three weeks on wiring, and do not even get me started on the design phase! A fine day for science indeed." Dexter glared down at the chimp, arm folded behind his back.  
"That wretched thing? Puh-leez. I, Mojo Jojo could have conceived, thought up, and imagined a far more aesthetically pleasing piece of machinery than that former pile of scrap metal. Not only would it have been far more attractive to look upon, but also ten times more useful as well. I did you a favor dismantling such a monstrosity." Mojo scoffed.  
Bubbles twisted his arm harder, almost to the point of shattering his bones.  
"What _I_ created was a masterful feat of engineering. What _you_ did was set me back by approximately four and three quarter months. And you call yourself a scientist."  
"Perhaps in that span of time you will be able to craft a more suitable mechanism, that is to say one less clunky and ugly than the one that I, Mojo Jojo destroyed. Perhaps in that time for which it takes you to build a new giant, enormous, monstrous mechanical contraption you will be thanking me for putting you on the right path by incinerating the original."  
"Enough," Buttercup snapped. "Mojo, you're under arrest for the murder of Laura Keane-Utonium, among countless other things.  
"You are under the assumption, the impression, the ridiculous ideal, that I, Mojo Jojo, intend to come back with you, the puny and putrid Powerpuff Girls, quietly-" Bubbles interrupted him by clocking him over the back of the head with her free arm.  
"Shut the hell up, Jojo." the usually sweet and naive girl said coldly. It was the first time Buttercup had ever heard her swear.  
The chimp glared up at Buttercup and Rex, blood dripping down his lime green face. "Don't you little fools realize I did you a favor by killing that hussy? Without her in your lives, you were much more free to use your powers and utilize your abilities to the fullest. Instead you were stuck with her and your Professor Utonium doing "family activities" that took away from that. You were all much better off without her."  
Buttercup spat in his face. "Don't you dare speak about our mother that way again. You didn't know her. You didn't care about her. You just wanted to take her away from us. You didn't care about us honing our powers or whatever. You just wanted to-hurt us and..." Buttercup stopped herself. She could feel her eyes burning and her throat closing up. If she kept talking, she knew she'd start bawling.  
Rex put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Ordinarily, Buttercup would've slapped it away, but she barely even registered her friend's touch. She felt angry and numb and terrified all at once and it was all she could do to stop herself from screaming or pulping Mojo's head in or worse. She took a deep breath, trying not to let herself feel overwhelmed.  
"Why couldn't you have left her out of it! What did Ms. Ke- Mom ever do to you?" the brunette shouted.  
"Exactly the same thing you foolish children did: push me further away from _my_ father."

"Oh my-" Doctor Holiday started.  
"Professor! Dad, no!" Blossom let out an ear splitting wail.  
"He's having a seizure. Get out of the way!" Holiday said. It took the combined strengths of Six and Ace to pull Blossom away from Professor Utonium.  
"Dad! Dad!"  
"I'm sorry, Blossom, but you need to leave. Ace, take her somewhere else." Holiday said sympathetically.  
Ace grabbed her by the arm and lead her away from her father's sickbed. Six shut the door behind them. Ace lead her downstairs and Blossom slumped down on the couch, sobbing.  
"Sit tight, I'mma gonna get youse a glass of water."  
"Daddy..." Ace heard her whimper pathetically as he walked into the kitchen.  
"I know, kiddo, I know. I'm sorry." he said lamely.  
Blossom sat helplessly downstairs as her creator was dying and all he could say was he was sorry? What a useless ass Ace felt like.  
When he came back with the water, Ace saw that Blossom had cried herself to sleep. She was still sitting up, hadn't even bothered to lie down first. Maybe that was a good thing. Bloss had been running herself ragged for months now; she could use a good rest.  
Ace sat the glass on a side table near the couch, then dug around in a closet for a blanket. He covered Blossom up, tucking her in like his mom used to do when he was little. He searched for the remote and clicked the T.V. on, turning the sound down low, and sat next to her. It was going to be a long day.  
He briefly wondered when Buttercup, Bubbles, and that Salazar kid would be back. No one had told him anything about who they were fighting or when they'd be back. Probably just some sort of monster attack. The usual. No biggie. Except that deep down, Ace knew there was something different happening today.  
His suspicions were confirmed when he clicked on the news stations and saw that every channel, even ones broadcasting from as far away as Endsville and the Cul de Sac, was airing footage of the wreckage of Townsville. He had to stop himself from shouting out loud. The last time Ace had seen Townsville that devastated was...the Girls' final battle with HIM all those years ago. (Of course, after that point most of the major criminal activity had subsided to the point that Powerpuff Girls had mainly had to deal with petty crimes, and only on rare occasion did they have to defeat an old nemesis. But that's a story for another time.) What _had happened_ out there! Ace flipped back and forth between channels and none of them seemed to have any information on what was going on out there, save for garbled reports saying that "the Powderpuff Girls and Providence agent Tex Balthazar" were on the scene.  
In frustration, Ace turned the cable off and swore ferociously under his breath. Why had he been the last to know?  
He had just went to go check up on Snake, Arturo, Grubber, and Big Billy for maybe twenty minutes and when he'd driven back, Townsville looked like it had been turned the set of an old Japanese monster movie and he had been informed by the ever grouchy Agent Six that Bubbles, Buttercup, and Salazar had gone off to beat the snot out of what ever had wrecked the place up; mayor's orders.  
It wasn't like that was anything new. Back in the day the Powerpuff Girls had defeated monsters left and right without batting an eye. Saving the day before bedtime and all that good rot. Today though...something was off. Ace could feel that even before Dexter had raced off to assist them.


	11. Chapter 11

Ace paced across the living room. He couldn't help himself, really. _They should be back by now_! _Where the hell are they?_ He kicked the couch in frustration, wincing when he heard Blossom stir. Ace'd been so wrapped up in his worrying that he'd momentarily forgotten she was asleep on the couch.  
"Sorry, Bloss." he mumbled.  
She appeared not to hear him, for which he was glad. Ace had seen the way Blossom had run herself ragged lately and he'd known it was only a matter of time before she'd break. You only worked yourself up about something that much out of love or fear. Ace was willing to bet it was about half and half.  
He promised himself he'd help her find a distraction from all of this once it was all over. Ace felt guilty because he'd given her the idea in the first place. Instead of helping Blossom cope, he'd just given her a reason to be angry with herself for failing if this whole cure thing didn't pan out for Utonium.  
 _I pro'ly jus' made things worse, didn't I? If Blossom ends up hatin' herself for the rest of her life cuz she couldn't save her ol' dad, it'll be cuz of my stupid suggestion. Why'd I have to be such a screw up! Maybe_ my _ol' dad was right about me. I am a waste of space.  
_ _Don't, don't you dare think that about yourself, another part of him said. Do ya think if ya were every bit as worthless as your screwed up excuse for a father figure you'd have friends, family, Buttercup?  
_ _Yeah, but what if I'm losing her,_ said the other part. _I mean she's so cozy with that Salazar kid an' I can see the way he looks at her and-  
_ "Ace, Doctor Holiday wants you upstairs." The unmistakable, no nonsense voice of Agent Six said from the staircase.  
"What for?" Ace asked.  
Six didn't answer. He beckoned Ace to follow him and disappeared back into the shadows.

 _It was exactly the kind of funeral you'd expect. A large crowd of people. Quiet. Tears running down their faces. Red eyes. Hushed tones of respect. All that was missing was the rain.  
The Utonium family watched helplessly as Laura Keane-Utonium's casket was lowered into the ground. None of them uttered a sound. None of them cried; they were past tears at that point. Bubbles buried her face in Octi's plush body. Blossom hung her head. The weary face of Professor Utonium looked on, deep bags under his calm gray eyes.  
_I'm sorry, Mom, I'm sorry. I'll do better next time, I swear. _Buttercup silently vowed._  
 _They stayed for around forty-five minutes longer and then the Professor said, softly, "Come on, girls, let's go home."_

"Oh c'mon! Seriously, you're trying to feed us the that garbage again? You don't care about the Professor, you just want us out of the way!" Buttercup snapped.  
"Can't I have both?" Mojo smiled innocently. He was rewarded with a jab to the face.  
"Buttercup!" Bubbles said in shock.  
"What?"  
"I think we should hear what he has to say, you know, before you beat him unconscious."  
"Are you freaking kidding me!? This basta-this- he'll say anything to keep us from throwing in prison, or better yet, the volcano, since we're still down here!"  
"I agree, this is no way we can trust this truly... _tasteless_ individual," Dexter said.  
"See, Bubbles, even Poindexter here knows it's a bad idea!"  
"However," Dexter continued, "I am curious to see what goes through his head. With a brain of that size and potential, he cannot truly be completely useless."  
"Aw, c'mon! Rex, back me up?" Buttercup pleaded.  
He looked down and his boots and shrugged as if to say "Sorry, but I'm curious, too, ya know?"  
The green Powerpuff gave them all a withering glare. "Fine. Let's hear it."  
"I shall tell you, once all of you, save teensy tiny, little Bubbles leaves the room. That is to say, this is a story I will only share with Powerpuff Bubbles. It is not for the ears of the angriest little Powerpuff or the young Russian scientist nor the EVO. I want her opinion only on my reasoning, and not the rest of yours." Mojo said.  
Buttercup lifted him off his feet by the front of his cape, looked deep into his eyes, and said "No. You think I forgot the last time you and Bubbles were in a room together? Forget it. Tell _me_ your stupid story or-"  
"Buttercup, it's okay! I'll do it!"  
"No. Bubbles what if he hurts you again? How will I live with myself if I have to tell the Professor and Blossom that I let that happen?" Buttercup's voice broke at the end.  
 _Ugh, I'm not going to freaking cry, am I?  
_ "I have the 'xact same powers as you and Blossom, well mostly. If I have to, I can whoop Mojo's butt, you know!" Bubbles exclaimed.  
"It's not that you're not capable, it's just-"  
"Just what?" Bubbles snapped.  
"I-I...it's just that-" the green Powerpuff couldn't make herself spit the words out, to say the thing she knew would keep Bubbles from agreeing to this. It was too terrible; the last secret she'd known about their late stepmother. Because Buttercup knew if she told Bubbles, her sister would be angry with her from keeping that from her.  
"When Mojo Jojo kill- when he took Mom away from us, she was-she..." And then Buttercup felt the room spin around her. Whether it was a result from the blow to the head or the fact that she'd stopped breathing at one point (for who knows how long), she couldn't say. She felt herself tilt backwards, felt someone catch her, Rex, maybe?  
"You okay?" She couldn't tell who said it though.  
When had she become so dizzy? Maybe the heat?  
"We need to get her out of here!"  
"Right. I'll take Mojo if you take Buttercup and Dexter."  
"Where should we take them?"  
"I think maybe..."  
"What was that?"  
"Oh hell, I think it was the volcano!"  
"How is that possible? According to my calculations, it's not due to erupt for-"  
"Well, clearly your calculations are off then! We need to get out of here ASAP. Mojo, do you know a shortcut outta here?"

 _They all settled on the dirty floor as Ace stood in front of them. He was nervous, pacing, but trying to make himself seem calm, cool, and deliberate in doing so. He couldn't trip up, not in front of his boys.  
_ _"Well, boys, it's time we called a meetin'. I think... I think it's time the Gangreen Gang turned over a new leaf."  
_ " _Whaddaya mean, bossss man?" Snake hissed.  
_ _"I'm glad you asked that, Snake, ol' chum. Here, read this." Ace took a crumpled note out of his vest pocket and handed it to Snake.  
Of the five of them, only Snake and Ace could read without struggling.  
Snake scowled, read it to himself, scolwed again, then read it for Billy, Arturo, and Grubber to hear.  
"Yeah, sssso?" Snake finally remarked.  
Ace had half a mind to backhand him, but didn't. Ace wouldn't be able to persuade Snake if he was angry with him.  
"So... I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna end up worse'n my ol' man. I don't wanna take some kid's mom away from 'em. I... I think the Gang could use ourselves a fresh start, whaddaya say? Snake? Billy? Lil' Arturo? Grubber?"_

"Professor Utonium- Patrick Laurence, he... isn't doing very well, is he?" Ace asked, softly.  
"No. He isn't." Holiday replied. She looked exhausted. Wisps of hair stuck out all over her head and the look in her eyes was of defeat.  
"Is there anythin' youse can do?"  
"The Chemical X is still an option, but in his current condition...the risk...he might not make it."  
"Do it." he said, grimly.  
"Ace-"  
"Doctuh, look if ya think ya save him, you have to try. If I just let him die while Buttercup an' Bubbles are out in the field without gettin' a chance to say good-bye, I'll never forgive myself an' I'm not sure if they would either."  
"You're sure this is what he'd want?" Holiday insisted.  
"I...don't know. I jus'- they've been through enough without their dad dyin' on my watch, y'know?" Ace said.  
Doctor Holiday gave him a sympathetic look, but Ace could tell she wasn't 100% convinced that this was their best option. And Ace was sure it wasn't. He just...just didn't want Buttercup to hate him for not trying hard enough. If she hated him, if the only girl he'd ever cared about and one of the few people outside of his Gang to show him compassion, then how would he be able to feel _anything_ but hatred for himself?  
 _B, ya know that stupid quote? That one 'bout how ya can't possibly love someone until ya love yourself? Well it's a damn lie. I don't know the last time I ever felt good about myself until ya came around. Ya made me want to live again. I feel like a person an' not jus' a screw up and a waste of space when I'm with you. I've never felt that way at all; never felt like I could care about anyone or anything 'til I realized you felt the same way. What I mean to say is...I love you.  
_ "Doctor Holiday, we're running out of time. Either you need to administer the Chemical X or we need to get Utonium to a medical facility pronto." Agent Six injected.  
Holiday nodded, causing strands of her hair to fall into her face.  
"I know, I know. I just need a minute."  
Ace couldn't help but wonder how much would still be the same after all this was said and done.  
 _Forgive me, Green-eyes?_


	12. Chapter 12

Getting out of there must've done her good, because when she woke up, she was flying. No. She wasn't flying, but the person carrying her was. Just ahead, she spotted a blue trail that stood out ever so slightly against the sky. Bubbles. Good, her sister was safe.  
She turned her head, wincing as she did, to see Dexter, looking a mix of nauseous and excited. He was being carried in one arm and she in the other. Rex's arms.  
Buttercup remembered Mojo insisting that only Bubbles hear his side of the story and then she'd been...dizzy...then waking up.  
"Wha's goin' on!" Buttercup yelled.  
"Townsville Volcano is erupting! We need to evacuate everybody!" Rex called.  
"Lemme down! I can help!"  
"No can do! You passed out earlier! We're getting you, Dex, and Mojo to a safe location!"  
"What about the Professor and everybody else?! We can't just leave them here!" the brunette exclaimed.  
"Your sister has already contacted Mayor Bellum and the appropriate authorities! A city wide evacuation notice has been sent out...however, we have been unable to contact Professor Utonium, Doctor Holiday, Agent Six, Blossom, or Mr. Copular!" Dexter said.

Ace could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket, but didn't pick it up. Whoever it was could always call back later if it really was that important. Agent Six, on the other hand, had no problem stepping out into the hall the instant he checked his caller I.D. Must've been his bosses at Providence.  
"I've injected the Chemical X directly into his bloodstream. We're going to have to wait it out. Until we know how the Chemical X affects him, Professor Utonium should not be moved or disturbed. The rest will do him good in any case." Holiday said.  
Ace nodded.  
He was grateful she hadn't tried to dumb it down too much or use too much techno-babble. Sometimes, when Utonium tried to explain his latest scientific mishap, Ace felt like his head would explode just from the weight of the things he couldn't quite understand. Blossom tended to do that, too; must've been a learned trait.  
"Thank you for yer help, um, ma'am," Ace said awkwardly.  
Ace couldn't remember the last time he'd called a woman "ma'am", if ever, nor the last time he'd made a conscious effort to sound polite. Maybe that's why he still got into trouble with older people, despite not being that punk ass loser he'd been back in the day.  
Holiday nodded, almost absently.  
"Do ya...do ya have any kinda rough estimate 'bout how long that might be?" Ace asked.  
"I haven't worked with Chemical X very often, but for something like this...it could take anywhere from a few minutes or hours to days before we know how he's reacted to it. And for good measure, at least twice that long before he should be moved." Dr. Holiday replied.  
"An' if he gots moved b'fore then? Whaddaya think could happen to 'im?"  
"He very well could die. He could die even under the best conditions right now. He's...somewhat far gone at this point."  
Ace grimaced. He'd promised himself he'd keep Utonium alive. Utonium had to make it...at least until the other two Powerpuff Girls got back. Ace knew Bubbles and Buttercup would never forgive themselves if they weren't there for their old man in his final moments. Hell, Ace wouldn't forgive himself either.  
Agent Six calmly walked back through the door. He began to open his mouth to speak, but before he could, Blossom, now clearly wide awake from her brief nap, burst through the bedroom door. Her hair, greasy, lanky, in need of a trim (things usually more applicable to Ace than ever to a Powerpuff Girl), was matted and stuck to her face and there was an urgent and wild look in her eyes. Six didn't look surprised in the least, but he was mildly annoyed about having to pick his sunglasses up off the floor  
"We need to move now. Townsville is in danger!" the pink Powerpuff proclaimed.  
"What do you mean?" Holiday asked her.  
"I got a notification from Town Hall on my phone and it said Townsville Volcano Mountain is going to erupt! The entire town is evacuating! We have to go and hurry!"  
"We-we can't. Professor Utonium is in no condition to travel in his current state. I...if we move him we may lose him, Blossom." Holiday said. She tried to sound calm, but it was obvious just how frantic she was.  
Blossom looked so lost and small. None of the usual bravado or confidence, no knowing grin. "I...know. We can't stay here though. I think I might have an idea of how we can get the Professor out of here as safely as possible. I need everyone's help if I'm going to attempt it."

Buttercup toyed with the idea of escape. She was certainly strong enough to overpower Rex if need be. The problem was, she couldn't think of a single way that wouldn't potentially mortally injure Dexter. (Not that she wanted to hurt Rex either. He was her good friend, after all.)  
The truth was she probably couldn't make a break for it anyways. She still felt a little foggy and weak and her neck ached and she had a pounding headache. Buttercup didn't think she was in danger of passing out again, but she was probably concussed.  
Judging by the direction they were headed in, this "safe location" was somewhere near Endsville or maybe Bellwood. Neither of which were very far off, so they'd probably be landing soon. In the meantime, Buttercup decided to pass the time by piecing together what had happened from her own vague memories and from what little Rex and Dexter would tell her.  
It seemed they'd taken off as soon as Buttercup began to pass out. When they'd gotten into the air, Bubbles made the call for an evacuation to Mayor Bellum, but hadn't reached anyone back at the house. Bubbles told Rex the directions to a safe location (as dictated to her by Mayor Bellum) and then she'd...insisted on hearing Mojo's side of the story. She flew out of hearing distance for a bit, and when she came back, she didn't say a word to either of the boys. She was obviously furious, or so Dorkster said.  
Buttercup was a bit furious at Rex and Dorkster herself for letting Bubbles hear what Mojo Jojo had to say. Whatever it was, it was a lie. A lie designed to ruin their image of their step-mom. Mojo would pay. She hadn't decided how yet, but he would. How dare he try to soil their memories of Laura Keane-Utonium.  
How low could you possibly be to destroy someone both in life and after their death?

Everything that wouldn't fit in the house or was too fragile was placed in Ace's van. _Everything_ would be going with them. Blossom had even managed to dig up the Professor's laboratory.  
Ace was to drive and keep an eye out, Doctor Holiday and Agent Six were to keep the Professor secure and get him anything he might need. And Blossom? Blossom was to carry their suburban home over her head, keeping all her, Holiday, and Dexter's research in tact and insuring that the Powerpuff Girls' childhood home was still there for them to return.  
Blossom reflected that this was a bit selfish, considering the volcanic eruption could destroy all of Townsville, leaving no one save their family with a house. After the last few months though, she needed reassurance that something about her and her sisters' lives would remain the same. Stability after the destruction.  
 _If Bubbles_ _ **and**_ _Buttercup return that is.  
_ There were a few missed calls and messages from Bubbles and Rex, yes. But what about Buttercup? Blossom hadn't heard her voice in the background nor had she received a separate call from her, which was highly unusual. Something had to be wrong with her...  
Blossom's stomach clenched at the thought. If _anything_ had happened to her younger sister, (well, only younger by .00057 seconds, but still, that's how Blossom had always thought of her) there'd be hell to pay.  
She supposed she wouldn't find out until they reached Bellwood, home of another super powered defender and a mutual friend of the Girls and Rex. (There was no guarantee that Ben would be home or that they would see him, of course. Perhaps he was on the road with his cousin Gwen or their friend, Kevin or in space, but the thought of being somewhere familiar with friends nearby soothed Blossom, if only a little.) Until then, Blossom tried not to entertain any thoughts of terrible things that could have befallen her sister. She'd have to push aside any thoughts and feelings of unease, otherwise, she wasn't certain she could concentrate on getting out of Townsville safely. She was already fatigued enough as it was from long nights in the lab; she didn't need another thing making her judgment compromised.  
She just had to keep everything straight and steady-  
"Blossom, we gots a problem!" Ace called up through the van's open window.  
 _What now?  
_ And then she looked down and saw _it_ hurtling towards them.  
"No!" she shouted.  
She tried to fly closer, but she knew it was too late. She had failed. She had let _everyone_ down. She had-  
 _Wait just a minute! What's that!_

"Hey, Buttercup! Look who it is! Guess they got our messages after all!" Rex exclaimed.  
Buttercup turned to see where Rex was looking. There, many feet below them, Buttercup saw her house being carried into the air, a pink streak beneath it. Blossom. And farther still below, but just ahead of the Utonium house, was the Green Death, Ace's hideous green van.  
"Woohoo! They made it! They-" Buttercup said.  
She stopped mid-sentence, however, when she saw a rushing, rumbling flow of lava headed towards the van.  
"NOOOOO!" Buttercup wrenched free of Rex's grasp. The EVO was too stunned to fly after her.  
She knew she might be too late to save them, but she damn well had to try.  
She was nearly on top of the vehicle, ready to lift it into the sky, when everything seemed to slow down. A golden-yellow light enveloped the van. The brightness was so intense, Buttercup had to shield her eyes.  
When she opened them again, certain the light was gone, she gaped in astonishment. The lava hung frozen in midair as though paused on someone's T.V. It had nearly made contact with the Green Death, but had stopped mere inches ahead of it. Buttercup saw Ace in the driver's seat, his hands still shaking on the steering wheel, his mouth hanging wide open. Shaken, but okay.  
"What in the hell..." Buttercup said.  
"Language, Buttercup." Said a familiar voice.  
Buttercup turned to the back of the van to see the source of the yellow light. He hovered above the ground, arms outstretched and eyes closed. His hair and skin looked awful still, but as she watched, the patchiness was replaced by new tufts of hair and his skin was beginning to look almost normal. Judging by the grin on his face, he was in good spirits.  
"Professor Utonium? D-dad? But how?"


	13. Chapter 13

Buttercup didn't wait for an answer. She rushed to hug her father. He still felt frail, but she no longer felt afraid of crushing him the way she had. She buried her face in his shirt for a long moment. They let go of each other and she repeated her question.  
Buttercup was aware that Dexter and Rex had landed behind her. Blossom, who had tried in vain to find a cleared off section of road to place the house down, (though Buttercup was sure she saw a flattened hunk of black metal sticking out from underneath it) hovered nervously a few feet from the van, not yet sure if she was ready to approach the Professor. A streak of blue speeding from the direction of the lava flickered in Buttercup's periphery. Holiday and Six were presumably still in the van with Ace.  
"I don't know... I don't know how I got here. The last thing I remember, I was in my room. I woke up here and I just... instinctively knew what to do." Utonium said. He was just as dazed by what he had done as everyone else.  
"You had a seizure and you were unconscious. I-I had to leave the room, but Doctor Holiday told me they injected you with Chemical X. That they had to because it was it was your only chance." Blossom told him. Buttercup heard her voice crack at the end.  
"That was... quite a risk."  
"How do you feel now, Professor?" Doctor Holiday asked as she stepped out of the van.  
"Significantly better. Still a little woozy though. I think it would be best if I sat down."  
Holiday helped him into the back of the van in the seat beside Agent Six.  
"Once we get to Bellwood, you're going to need to do a CAT scan to be sure, but the Chemical X may have taken care of the tumour. There is a chance you may still need surgery to remove the rest of it. There's also a possibility that the Chemical X was only a temporary pick-me-up and-"  
"I don't want to think about that now. Can I see my girls, please, Doctor Holiday?" the Professor cut her off.  
"Of-of course." she said.  
Doctor Holiday backed out of the van and Six went with her. She motioned for the Girls to approach.  
Bubbles had just touched down on the street. She handed Mojo off to Rex, instructing the older teen to keep an eye on the villain. She approached her sisters. She gave them each a small unenthusiastic nod. By the look in her eyes, Buttercup knew Bubbles was still shaken and on edge.  
They floated over to the van and stepped inside one at a time; Blossom first and Buttercup last. As Buttercup went to close the door, she saw Doctor Holiday run to Rex and embrace him, almost causing the young EVO to let go of his grip on Mojo Jojo. Dexter and Six both stood awkwardly on either side. Buttercup smiled briefly and shut the door.

After they had embraced their father and told each other what had happened when the others weren't there, they headed off to Bellwood. (After all, while _that_ flow of lava had been turned to stone, there would be others.) Doctor Holiday offered to drive, Six sat in the shotgun seat with Mojo Jojo handcuffed to him and Ace, Buttercup, Professor Utonium, and Dexter rode in the back. Bubbles and Rex were outside with Blossom, carrying the Utoniums' house.  
Buttercup had initially wanted to help with the heavy lifting, but she was decidedly too tired and injured to be of much help. In fact, she fell asleep in the van nearly as soon as they took off. She had her head on Ace's shoulder and was snoring loudly. It didn't seem to bother the green young man, as he soon fell asleep, too.  
It wasn't long before they reached Bellwood. They delivered Mojo Jojo (temporarily for now) to Bellwood Max Security Prison and headed to the hospital. Six went to the local hotel to rent some rooms, but was back shortly.  
Doctor Holiday, Dexter, and Blossom insisted on being let in during Professor Utonium's CAT scan, as they were all his doctors, however, only Holiday was let in as the hospital's doctors only seemed to take her seriously as a medical professional.  
"Adults," Dexter had sneered.  
Meanwhile in the waiting room, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were alone together for the first time since the beginning of the day. Rex, Ace, and Dexter had gone to get some food and Agent Six had taken a call from his boss back at Providence. Six had been reluctant to leave the room, but the call must've been urgent. He had looked like he wanted to say something to the Girls before he left and then he didn't.  
Blossom looked around and listened for a moment to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Satisfied, she turned to Bubbles and asked "Bubbles, what did Mojo say to you? About Mom, I mean."  
Bubbles stiffened and shifted away from her triplet.  
"I-I can't say. It's too awful."  
"You can tell us, sis. C'mon." Buttercup urged.  
"No. No. Even if it's a lie, you'll never think of her same way again." Bubbles said.  
"It's that bad?" Buttercup said. She seemed somewhat satisfied with the answer and Bubbles was grateful that she seemed ready to back off. (After all, Buttercup had her own secret about their step-mom; one she'd kept for much longer and shared with only two other people...)  
Bubbles closed her eyes and nodded solemnly.  
"You can't just keep this to yourself. It's not good for you. If it's that bad of a secret you can't just hold it in. It'll consume you and-" Blossom said. She was trying to sound calm, but it came off patronizing.  
"Stop it! Just stop. I can't tell you now. I don't know if I'll be able to tell you later either. If there is a time I'm ready, I'll let you know, but-but-" Bubbles was blubbering at this point.  
"Jus' knock it off, Bloss. The kid'll tell you when she's ready. Sheesh." Buttercup snapped. She couldn't stand to see her younger sister cry.  
Blossom bristled, but backed off. She knew she pushed too hard sometimes and now must've been one of those times.  
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry you had to hear...whatever Mojo said about Mom. And I'm sorry you got hurt, Buttercup."  
Blossom reached out her hand gingerly to her triplet and Bubbles took it and squeezed. Buttercup took Bubbles's other hand. They sat like that for several minutes until the boys came back.  
They didn't bring much, just some stuff from the vending machines. Ace tossed each of the Girls a bag of potato chips, (which they caught deftly) but none of them really felt that hungry or even in a snack-y mood. Blossom ate a few chips to be polite, but she really wasn't a sour cream and onion fan.  
"We, uh, saw Six in the hallway back there. I don't know what he was talking to White Knight about, but it sounds like Providence HQ is pretty ticked off at him." Rex spoke through a mouthful of barbecue chips.  
"But why though? He answered every call and kept you and Doctor Holiday out of danger." Blossom frowned.  
"I don't know. I don't want him to get in trouble for something I did. They better not be on 'im because we left Townsville."  
"That'd be ridiculous! It was a citywide evac." Buttercup said.  
"You don't know White. He's not always what you'd call a reasonable guy." Rex said grimly.

Six waited until White Knight had stopped yelling and then spoke. "Is that all?" he said dryly.  
"No. You, Doctor Holiday, and the bo- Rex are to return to Providence. Immediately!" Knight answered.  
"Holiday has taken Professor Utonium to get a CAT scan to be sure the Chemical X took care of the tumour. She informed me that even if that does it, she, the McPherson boy, and Utonium's oldest daughter need to stay and observe him for a week or so longer...in case it was only "a brief fix"."  
"You've all already been out much longer than I originally agreed to." White said.  
"I know."  
"That's it? That's all you have to say?"  
"Yes. Good-bye."  
He hung up.

 _Buttercup could tell immediately that this wasn't the kind of thing she was meant to be hearing, but she was curious anyways.  
_ Back to your old habits, eh? Snooping again already?  
 _She peeked into the Professor's study. The door was only open a sliver, but it was enough to see. The Professor paced anxiously, his phone pressed between his ear and his shoulder.  
"...I-I see...No more than three or four weeks along...Possible she might not have even realized yet...I agree at her age, that is surprising...Yes. Thank you. Goodbye." his voice broke at the end. And he started to cry.  
Buttercup backed away, pulse racing. She knew she wouldn't tell Blossom and Bubbles. It wasn't her secret to tell. She probably wouldn't even tell the Professor what she knew...what she heard.  
She went to sneak away, but felt her arm bump against the wall. It wasn't quiet either.  
"Who's-who's there?" her father called out shakily.  
"It's just me, Professor." Buttercup answered.  
"Buttercup, could you come in for a minute?"  
Buttercup tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. She drifted in through the doorway, a guilty look on her face.  
Her father's face was sad and pale and his eyes were rimmed with red.  
"Did you hear...did you hear what the coroner told me just now?" he asked calmly.  
"Yes. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, really. I just...did they say what I think they did. About her, I mean?" she answered.  
"Yes. She...didn't tell me. I don't know if she knew yet or not, but I didn't know until just now. I don't know why they waited until after the funeral to tell me."  
Buttercup looked at her feet.  
"Please don't tell your sisters, at least, not now okay? They're upset as it is. It's bad enough- I'm sorry you had to walk by and hear that."  
Buttercup nodded. "I won't. Promise."  
He didn't say another word; he just held out his arms to her. They hugged for a long moment as the Professor rocked back and forth on his heels.  
He let go first._

It was a little under an hour when Doctor Holiday and the Professor came back out. The Professor was beaming and Holiday was trying not to, but you could see it in her eyes.  
"Do you want to say it or should I?" Utonium asked Holiday.  
"You go ahead." Holiday smiled.  
"I'm completely cancer free!"  
Everyone in the waiting room gasped in relief and excitement.  
"And it's all thanks to my three amazing doctors! And especially Blossom for assembling Doctor Holiday and Dexter to help! The work you put into this, into saving me is incredible. You discovered the cure for cancer. That's the kind of thing you could get a Nobel out of!" Utonium gushed.  
"The doctors here want to keep Professor Utonium here overnight for observation, but after that-You girls can come stay at the hotel with everybody else, however..." Doctor Holiday's voice trailed off.  
"However, what?" Buttercup said.  
"However, before you can do either, both the Townsville and Bellwood police departments want to talk with Rex, Bubbles, Buttercup, _and_ Dexter about...what happened earlier today." She was clearly unhappy about that.  
"It's no big deal. We do that all the time. Well, we used to." Buttercup scoffed.  
"It's just so soon. Why not give you time to rest first? You're...children, not criminals."  
"The two aren't mutually exclusive." Dexter pointed out.  
Blossom chortled at this. Dexter smiled back sheepishly. Buttercup rolled her eyes at the pair of them.  
Buttercup wished they'd get it over with and kiss or hold hands or whatever. What little time they'd spent out of the laboratory had been spent talking excitedly and making science jokes and referencing obscure sci-fi movies. They obviously liked one another. And they had this in-syncness, this fluidity in the way they spoke with one another. It reminded Buttercup of the way Six and Holiday moved around each other, like they knew what the other was going to do before they did it. It reminded Buttercup of her parents. (Buttercup wondered if that's how she was with Ace...or even Rex. Though she tried to brush the thought away.) Buttercup felt...approval at the thought of the nerds as a couple.  
"We'll go. If I have to...to tell them what Mojo said about Mom, I want the rest of you to leave, 'kay?" Bubbles said reluctantly.  
The other teenagers (save for Ace and Blossom) nodded in agreement.  
And so they went.  
They were spoken to as a group, then asked back in individually. It didn't take as long as Buttercup had thought it would. She didn't know if Bubbles had told the police what Mojo had said and she didn't feel much like asking.  
By the time they left, visiting hours were over at Bellwood General. They were all tired and no one much wanted to fly, so Buttercup hailed a cab and they drove to the hotel.  
It wasn't fancy, but neither was it small and cramped and there were not one, but two decent sized swimming pools. Six had rented three rooms, one for the the girls, one for the boys, and one for himself and Doctor Holiday. Buttercup hadn't gone in the other rooms, but she figured the other two were much the same; two beds, one pull-out couch, a few chairs, a flat-screen T.V. with the Wi-Fi password on a sticky note, a bathroom, a fridge, a microwave.  
Blossom was still taking a shower when they arrived back and Bubbles put some cartoons on on the T.V. Buttercup, disinterested in the show her sister was engrossed in, pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. She was amazed she hadn't dropped it somewhere along the way. It was at less than 50% battery power and she wasn't sure where her charger was (probably in the house), but she wasn't going to be on there for long.  
There were hundreds of text messages from friends and neighbors and even more voice mails. She scrolled down under she found Ace's texts.  
There were a few from earlier in the day. A good morning text, a few already outdated memes, casting announcements for the new Spore reboot...and then one from just after they'd left to fight Mojo. "we need 2 talk later" it read.  
Buttercup sighed then looked away from the screen for a moment. She thought she knew what it was about. She didn't want to talk about it. Didn't want to face that right now.  
She didn't answer him.

Over in the boys' room, Ace was also looking at his phone, but for a very different reason. It had been an hour since Snake had last texted him. The Gangreen Gang had gotten out of Townsville, however, they hadn't gotten out uninjured. A chunk of falling debris had landed on Grubber's leg. Grubber had insisted it wasn't broken, but agreed to go to the nearest hospital (which from their end of town was closer to Citiesville than Bellwood) to get it checked out. The last text Snake had sent, they had just made it into the emergency room. Ace figured Grubber was getting his leg set about now and the other boys had either insisted on coming with him or they were in the waiting room.  
At least they'd made it out. A few of his other friends...hadn't been so lucky. He'd seen the familiar names on the news. The names of the confirmed dead. His mouth felt sour and dry and his heart sank ever lower every time he saw the name of a friend from school, a friend from the Gang's...previous line of work, even a few family members.  
Dexter and Rex didn't have any family or friends in Townsville so they didn't react to the names, only the number of dead. Three hundred seventy-six and counting. So many people they felt personally responsible for failing to save.  
Eventually, someone (Ace wasn't sure who) shut off the news, for which Ace was grateful. He fell into a restless sleep on the couch soon afterwards. He woke up every few hours, plagued by nightmares of skeletons and lava and accusations.  
After awhile he gave up on sleep and started playing games on his cell phone. Neither of the other two boys so much as stirred.  
Ace was glad someone could sleep soundly. He wondered if Buttercup, Bubbles, or Blossom had managed to get proper sleep.  
 _Pro'ly not._

Buttercup woke to the sounds of yelling in the hallway. She heard Holiday and Six amongst the cacophony, but she didn't recognize any other voices.  
Half-asleep and confused, Buttercup stepped to the door and peered out of the peep hole. The hall was packed with reporters. Reporters with notepads, microphones, cameras. Doctor Holiday and Agent Six stood in their midst, looking pissed. They both looked messy and disheveled as though they'd been in a hurry.  
Buttercup wasn't sure why this surprised her. After all, it'd been happening on and off all week. She hadn't even been able to go to the breakfast bar without getting harassed by reporters or paparazzi taking her picture at the swimming pool.  
Holiday yelled at them to back off. "These kids have had a rough time enough without you trying to harass them in a hotel at 8:00 A.M."  
Six looked ready to throw down. He didn't have his swords with him (it was probably against hotel policy), but Buttercup had seen his hand-to-hand combat skills in person. You don't get called the Sixth Most Dangerous Man In the World just for being good with a blade.  
The reporters ignored their annoyance. They spoke all at once and even with her supersonic hearing, Buttercup had trouble making out what they said.  
"Enough!" Six said over the roar. "Providence business. Get back or-"  
They bolted before he could finish his sentence.  
Holiday rolled her eyes and mouthed something to Six. (Buttercup had never been good at lipreading, so she wasn't sure what.) It was hard to tell if he returned her eye roll, as he was wearing his ever present sunglasses.  
Six paused a moment then knocked on the door.  
"Uh, yeah?" Buttercup croaked. Her mouth was strangely dry.  
"Buttercup, can we come in? The interview is in an hour. We've already been over to the boys' room; they're eating breakfast right now. Is Blossom awake yet?" Doctor Holiday asked.  
Buttercup looked over her shoulder. Blossom was curled up on her side. Her mouth hung open and she was both drooling and snoring.  
"Um, you can come in, but she's out cold. I can wake 'er up if you want." Buttercup was already undoing the deadbolt.  
"No, no, that's fine. We're still not ready either. We need to eat and shower. Uh, there's no need to put on makeup or fix your hair. They'll do that for us before we go on air."  
"They want all of us today?"  
That was surprising. Most days, the press only wanted to talk to Holiday, Dexter, and Blossom. Which was understandable. _They_ were the ones who'd discovered something incredible. Buttercup and the others? They'd been muscle at best.  
Even then, Buttercup, Bubbles, Ace, and Rex hadn't gotten much downtown. Buttercup has snuck off a few times with Ace, but never for long. And when they kissed, he'd felt distant and Buttercup thought she knew why. She hoped she was wrong though. She hoped it was just the stress of the last several days and not...that-  
"Yes."  
Buttercup opened the door and they walked in.  
"It's...more of a fluff piece, getting to know us and our families type interview, though, they'll probably want to ask you about Mojo Jojo's capture as well. Tomorrow is the last day of interviews...for now. Then you'll be moving into the temporary apartment that the Mayor of Townsville paid for." Holiday said.  
Of course, Buttercup reflected, their time in Bellwood wouldn't be over in the near future. Townsville would have to be reconstructed, not quite from scratch, but almost. And then there'd be Mojo's trial...  
Doctor Holiday started over to the fridge.  
"Wait...wait. Are you guys gonna see us off then or are ya going to be back at Providence before we wake up?" Buttercup asked.  
"Why do you ask?" Agent Six replied. Buttercup thought she saw a flicker of a smirk turn up the corner of his mouth.  
"I...uh, well...I need to talk with Rex about something before you leave."  
"Oh. Why don't you ask him after the interview?" Holiday said in the same knowing, almost passive aggressive tone as Six.  
Were they...teasing her? Seriously? What was this, middle school?  
"Uh, no. No. That's not a great time and...it's important. I've barely seen him all week and I need to, uh, make sure he gets it...why he needs to hear it..." she managed.  
"Ah." Holiday nodded.  
Out of the corner of her eye, Buttercup was sure she saw Holiday wink at Six.

"Our next guests are quite an eclectic group of people from all around the country, but they had a few common goals including curing cancer, the arrest of a wanted criminal, and the evacuation of Townsville during a volcanic eruption. Please welcome from the City of Townsville... Professor P.L. Utonium-"  
The Professor walked out through the curtain and the Girls could see him on the monitor, beaming and waving at the audience as he started slowly across the stage. The audience clapped politely, seemingly unaware of who he was.  
"-his three lovely daughters, Blossom Utonium, Bubbles Utonium, and Buttercup Utonium, though you might know them better as...the Powerpuff Girls!"  
The Powerpuff Girls simultaneously burst through the curtain, a small rainbow of color trailing in their way as they made to sit down on one of the couches. Their arrival was met with a thunderous roar of excitement.  
"Also from Townsville... Ace D. Copular, leader of former criminal group turned heroes, the Gangreen Gang."  
Some applause, but also a few nervous titters as the green young man stepped out.  
"Blossom Utonium, as most of you know, is the person who set up a dream team to help cure her father's cancer. That team included two other well-known scientific names, who our viewers should be quite familiar with, as they are known allies to local hero Benjamin "Ben 10" Tennyson...the owner and CEO of DexLabs, Dexter McPherson!"  
The boy genius awkwardly hobbled across the set, careful not to make eye contact with anyone in the crowd as he went. He was met with cheering nonetheless the less.  
"From Providence, Doctor Rebecca Holiday, her partner Agent Six, and the young man the press has dubbed "Generator Rex", Rex Salazar!"  
Loud cheering and a few whistles were heard as they too sat down.  
Ultimately, Holiday, Blossom, Dexter, Professor Utonium, and Six sat together on one couch and Buttercup, sandwiched between Rex and Ace with Bubbles at the end, sat on the other.  
"So," the host, a cheerful dark haired woman said, "before we begin, how are you all enjoying you're, uh, stay here at Bellwood? I know it must be hard changing locations after the destruction of your city."  
"Bellwood is a lovely town. It is hard though... we have friends and family-also from Townsville- that we still haven't heard from, that could be in no position to contact us, who could be critically injured or worse. There is a long list of the names of the missing... you can view that list on Townsville's website," Blossom began.  
"And if you have any information about their whereabouts, please," Buttercup said. No matter how many interviews she'd been on, it still felt weird to say for Buttercup. It was wrong to think that Townsville was gone. It had been her home for so long and now it was mostly rubble.  
"Don't hesitate to contact Mayor Bellum's office or the e-mail or phone number of their family members." Bubbles finished solemnly. The phone numbers and contact information appeared on screen as she finished talking.  
"And if you can, please donate to the Townsville Relief and Reconstruction Fund." Professor Utonium said.  
"So sad, so sad," the interviewer said with a nod. "Right, so, in addition to tragedy, you've achieved triumph. How do you feel knowing you probably eradicated cancer? Do you think you'll be up for a Nobel Science Prize?"  
"Well, it certainly is exciting, but we don't know if we've eradicated it yet. More tests will have to be done." Holiday said.  
"More tests, approval from the FDA, and we will have to observe Professor Utonium to make sure he _stays_ cancer free," Dexter listed off. "Though if we are successful, a Nobel would certainly be nice." The audience chuckled a little at that.  
"I'm just happy to be able to help. In my efforts to save my dad, I may have also saved millions from suffering. That's a prize in itself." Blossom said. Buttercup thought that last bit was a little cheesy, but the audience seemed to like it.  
"You must have a great relationship with your father. What about your relationships with your sisters and your colleagues?" the interviewer asked.  
"Well, we don't always get along, but I love my sisters and we've supported each other through everything. As for my colleagues..."  
It was around then that Buttercup started to zone out. She tried not to show it on her face, but she was sure the audience and the interviewer both knew she was bored. The interviewer asked Holiday and Dexter a few things about their jobs and home lives, but Buttercup couldn't remember what they said. Buttercup wasn't asked many questions, so she didn't need to put in the effort to pay attention. And then the interviewer turned to Buttercup with a crooked grin. "So, Buttercup, I see you're sitting between two handsome young men. You seem _very cosy_ right there. Are you dating either of them?"  
Everything felt like it was incredibly slow, yet incredibly fast. The lights seemed to glare down at her, shining in her eyes. Her face and armpits started to sweat. Buttercup felt inexplicably trapped.  
"I, uh, um, well..." Buttercup was freezing up and she didn't know how to react without hurting someone.  
"Heh, heh! It's alright! Not everyone does well with personal questions! Now, Blossom! What about you? Are you seeing anyone?" The interviewer blew off Buttercup's awkward stuttering.  
Blossom blushed and Dexter grinned nervously, fidgeting with his lab coat. The interviewer winked. "Ah, I see."  
Buttercup's slip up was forgotten by everyone...except herself. Her thoughts were a single string of _I screwed up I screwed up I screwed up._ She couldn't even think about something snarky to say about Blossom and Dexter finally coupling up.  
By the time the interview was finally over, Buttercup was ready to jump out of her skin. She felt guilty and grossed out with herself.  
On the way out of the studio, Ace and Rex both turned to her.  
"Wow, I've never seen _you_ at such a loss for words." Rex said.  
"Well... I don't like personal questions." Buttercup muttered.  
"It's not that hard a question, B," Ace put his arm around her. "Ya just had to say who yer with."  
"Yeah... me," Rex put his arm around her other shoulder. "Or him."  
Buttercup stiffened. She couldn't tell if they were teasing her or waiting for a real answer.  
She needed to get away, get some fresh air away from the studio. Maybe away from Bellwood.  
"I need to step out real quick. I'm startin' to feel a little cruddy." Buttercup told the boys.  
Before either of them could reply, Buttercup zoomed down the hall and out the studio door. She launched herself into the sky and took off.  
She flew due west for about an hour, not in a hurry, taking her sweet time. If it hadn't been for the sign, she never would've recognized the place as Townsville. It was all crumbling rubble and blackened, charred buildings...and bodies. Hundreds of them caught in their final poses.  
Buttercup felt tears sting her eyes. She didn't stay for long.  
She flew all around, hoping to find something that was recognizable as her city. Finally, up on a hill, she did find something. The cemetery where her mother was buried was still intact.  
It was a large cemetery. Most everyone who'd lived and died in Townsville over the past hundred years was buried there. It wasn't a bad place to be laid to rest either. There were a lot of interesting statues and graves and it had been well-kept and cared for before the volcano went off. It wasn't too messy now either, but give it another week or so.  
Cautiously, Buttercup approached the gate. It was unlocked, probably because the groundskeeper had been too busy evacuating to lock up. She allowed herself to float back to the ground, sneakers touching down on the dry, brown grass. It creaked loudly as the gate swung open, which made Buttercup feel self-conscious, even knowing she was the only one there and she wasn't _technically_ doing anything wrong.  
She crept upon the ground, afraid to make a sound. Something felt wrong about sound filling the dead city once again.  
Buttercup had no flowers in her hands, but if she had, she would've placed them on her step-mom's grave. She knelt down in front of the headstone and lowered her head, staring at the engraving.

 _ **Laura Keane-Utonium  
Teacher, Friend, Mother, Wife  
Died age 42  
**_  
Thewords brought Buttercup no comfort, though she smiled a little at the one splash of color: a small rainbow made of green, pink, and blue. She touched the smooth, marble surface and spoke.  
"Hey, Ms. Kea- Mom, can I... talk with you for a minute? There's something I need to decide and I don't know how I'm gonna do it..."

The next morning, the Utonium family (plus Ace) had moved into their temporary home. It was fairly big, with a porch out front and out back, a yard, two stories, and a basement. It wasn't their old home, but it would be awhile before they'd be able to put that back in Townsville.  
Dexter had been sent back home (a robotic chauffeur in a limo had driven him), though not before exchanging numbers and contact information with Blossom. Bubbles and Buttercup had teased her, though Blossom seemed not to care. She practically had hearts in her eyes.  
Professor Utonium had settled down in the basement and was itching to start tinkering and creating again, though he refrained from doing so until the guests left. He looked and felt better than he had in months. Although he was unable to use whatever abilities the Chemical X had briefly given him, he was still trying.  
Some time between the T.V. interview and helping the Utoniums move, Agent Six and Doctor Holiday had gotten engaged. Holiday had delightedly flashed her diamond ring around all day; the Girls ooed and aahed as she did. Rex had congratulated them by loudly blowing a noisemaker and shouting "About time!" Six had a small smile plastered on his face all morning and made every possible excuse to graze or hold Holiday's hands. Despite his happiness, he was still uneasy after his last few conversations with White Knight. That would have to be dealt with after they arrived at Providence...  
Bubbles was still having a hard time after what Mojo had told her. She was more withdrawn and less cheery, sticking mainly to herself. She colored more in her art pad than usual, but she had been talking about starting to work on a graphic novel for months now. Buttercup and Blossom worried about her, but resolved to wait until Bubbles was ready to tell them before prying further.  
About two hours before Holiday, Six, and Rex were supposed to leave, Buttercup finally mustered up the courage to approach Rex and Ace.  
"Hey, can I talk with you both about something...personal?"  
"Yeah, sure." Rex said.  
"Alright." Ace said.  
"Let's go out to the back porch. I don't want anyone listening in..."  
And what happened next? Well, that's up to you. Some stories have _more_ than one true ending..


	14. Endings

**Author's note:** Despite reading a lot of YA novels, I am not especially fond of love triangles. From a shipper's POV, they're sort of fun, but ultimately, it's always obvious to me who the main character is going to end up with. There's a very basic pattern and formula. That being said, I thought it might be sort of fun to attempt to write one, if only once.  
I'm not going to say I brought anything new or dismantled any cliches, but I thought I'd try to write it more how I think a love triangle would play out IRL; which is to say awkwardly.  
This AU is partially based on FusionFall and I remember the two biggest ships (for Buttercup) were always Buttercup x Ace and Buttercup x Rex, so it felt natural to try to explore those both. As the story came along more and more, I realized I didn't know who I wanted to end up with whom. I had too many ideas and I didn't want to abandon any of them. So I came up with a solution: to write up a chapter solely for multiple, alternate endings.  
I've thought hard and brainstormed ideas for what each of these six endings should be. I wanted to put a lot of time and effort into each of them so none of them seem like a forced afterthought and like they could each be a legitimate conclusion to Buttercup's love triangle and a legitimate conclusion to the story that's taken me two years to write. I want them each to feel real (for lack of a better phrase) and to satisfy my small audience and for them to feel like I put thought into whatever ship they were rooting for. I didn't want it feel like there was just _one_ ending I really put work into and that that was the one I considered the "real" ending and the others were just scraps and half-thought, half-finished ideas.  
I think I've rambled enough. This is probably the longest author's note ever. Enjoy the rest of the story.

 **Buttercup chooses Ace 1:** Buttercup walked them both out to the back porch, where she hoped no one would burst in and eavesdrop. (It was a personal and private conversation after all.) She motioned for them both to sit on the big, heavily cushioned porch swing.  
Buttercup looked at Ace, then Rex, then looked away. She bit her lower lip and repressed the urge to begin pacing. She was so, so sure of what she wanted to say; she didn't need to make it any harder by letting her nerves get the best of her.  
 _Okay. Okay. You got this. Make like you're ripping off bandaid and do this fast.  
_ "So, I think you both know why I brought you here. Um..." She trailed off.  
She'd been thinking over and over about what to say and now she was already blanking.  
Ace flashed a quick smile of encouragement. Rex mouthed "Go ahead."  
Buttercup breathed in through her nose and exhaled violently though her mouth. She was sure she felt the porch shake around them.  
"Okay, okay. Gimme a sec an' lemme...Lemme start over."  
Buttercup took another deep breath. She wasn't used to being this nervous. Not ever in her whole life. When it came to fighting crime and saving the day, she was confident, calm, and cool, but when it came to emotions and love and everything that came with it, she was the exact opposite.  
"The thing is, I really like and care about both of you and I know you both feel like that about me, but I don't feel about both of you in the exact same way.  
"Rex, you're one of my oldest friends and we've been through a lot of battles together and when I was younger, I did like _like_ you. A lot. You're really funny and nice an' you have good taste in comics. There isn't a day I don't think about the fun we had together and fighting with you side by side. But-and I know it's not your fault-you haven't been there for me in a long time. Not emotionally. Not when Mom died. Not when I lost my powers. Not when I got them back. We've hardly talked in years and now you just-expect to pick back up like normal. Like we're preteens again...it's not the same as it was. I'm not exactly the same either and you haven't been around me long enough to notice.  
"You have been here for me now though. Through the Professor's cancer, you've been supportive and helpful and you've been a real friend to me and my sisters. You helped us capture our step-mom's killer. You've also been really jealous of Ace and my relationship when I'm not really sure you have a right to be...not after it's been so long since we hung out.  
"Ace, you used to be my enemy for years. You broke my heart once before. But you changed...for me, because of something I wrote to you after...after Mom died. You changed and the Gangreen Gang changed. And you were good people all along. You just needed love and encouragement from people who really, really cared about you. You might not have been there with me in battle, but you were there for me when I needed you. You let me stay with you during...difficult times, you were there for me when I lost my powers, and when I got them back. We've been together through so much. You know me almost as well as Bubbles and Blossom and you really are a part of me and you're part of my family. I don't think I could've gotten through the last several years without you. You've been solid, you've been a constant in my life, and... I don't think I could ever feel the way I do with you about someone else.  
"I love you, Ace D. Copular. Sometimes I think I love you more than I love myself."  
Ace looked like he wanted to open his mouth to say something crude, but instead he stood up next to Buttercup. He was beaming. He realized he'd been paranoid about everything all along. Of course she loved him and he loved her. So he told her so.  
"I understand. I'll always care about you, whether we're just friends or something else. If he ever hurts you or you change your mind, I'll be there." Rex told Buttercup.  
"Thanks for being understanding. You'll always be my friend. I love you, just not in a romantic way." Buttercup replied.  
Rex stood up and went back inside the house. There was still moving to be done and it would help him get his mind off everything.  
"Buddacup, there's a few somethings I have to say to you, too. The Gang an' I have been talkin' an' we've been thinkin' 'bout maybe puttin' together a little band. No big deal, jus' a garage band fer now, after all we need all the practice we can get. An' well, I was wondering, would ya want ta be in it? The band that is?" Ace said after the other boy was gone.  
"Hell yes! It's been awhile since I've played my bass, but I'm not too rusty!"  
"And one other thing..."  
Ace dropped down on one knee. It had been raining earlier and the porch was still damp, but he barely noticed. From the inside of his bulky jacket he pulled out a small box, the kind people only put jewelry in. He opened the lid, revealing a simple ring with a silver band and a pale green stone.  
"Buddacup Utonium, will you marry me?"  
She didn't say a word at first. Ace gulped.  
 _This is it, I pushed my luck. Of course she wouldn't want to take things this far with a lowlife like me.  
_ She cupped his cheek in her hand. Ace felt his pulse racing and knew Buttercup could hear it, too. Then she gave him a long, passionate kiss.  
Ace didn't need to hear her say it; he knew what Buttercup's answer was.

 **Buttercup chooses Ace 2:** Buttercup walked them both out to the back porch, where she hoped no one would burst in and eavesdrop. (It was a personal and private conversation after all.) She motioned for them both to sit on the big, heavily cushioned porch swing.  
Buttercup looked at Ace, then Rex, then looked away. She bit her lower lip and repressed the urge to begin pacing. She was so, so sure of what she wanted to say; she didn't need to make it any harder by letting her nerves get the best of her.  
 _Okay. Okay. You got this. Make like you're ripping off bandaid and do this fast.  
_ "So, I think you both know why I brought you here. Um..." She trailed off.  
She'd been thinking over and over about what to say and now she was already blanking.  
Ace flashed a quick smile of encouragement. Rex mouthed "Go ahead."  
Buttercup breathed in through her nose and exhaled violently though her mouth. She was sure she felt the porch shake around them.  
"Okay, okay. Gimme a sec an' lemme...Lemme start over."  
Buttercup took another deep breath. She wasn't used to being this nervous. Not ever in her whole life. When it came to fighting crime and saving the day, she was confident, calm, and cool, but when it came to emotions and love and everything that came with it, she was the exact opposite.  
"Rex, you're one of my oldest friends and we've been through a lot of battles together and when I was younger, I did like like you. A lot. You're really funny and nice an' you have good taste in comics. There isn't a day I don't think about the fun we had together and fighting with you side by side. But-and I know it's not your fault-you haven't been there for me in a long time. Not emotionally. Not when Mom died. Not when I lost my powers. Not when I got them back. We've hardly talked in years and now you just-expect to pick back up like normal. Like we're preteens again...it's not the same as it was. I'm not exactly the same either and you haven't been around me long enough to notice.  
"You have been here for me now though. Through the Professor's cancer, you've been supportive and helpful and you've been a real friend to me and my sisters. You helped us capture our step-mom's killer. You've also been really jealous of Ace and my relationship when I'm not really sure you have a right to be...not after it's been so long since we hung out. And I think you've been ignoring someone who really, really likes you...someone who even if you don't feel the same way about could use your support right now. Bubbles has a big crush on you and even if she didn't, she could use a friend to help her sort through things right now or at least listen to her. I don't think Blossom or me are the friends who are going to help her do that.  
"Ace, you used to be my enemy for years. You broke my heart once before. But you changed...for me, because of something I wrote to you after...after Mom died. You changed and the Gangreen Gang changed. And you were good people all along. You just needed love and encouragement from people who really, really cared about you. You might not have been there with me in battle, but you were there for me when I needed you. You let me stay with you during...difficult times, you were there for me when I lost my powers, and when I got them back. We've been together through so much. You know me almost as well as Bubbles and Blossom and you really are a part of me and you're part of my family. I don't think I could've gotten through the last several years without you. You've been solid, you've been a constant in my life, and... I don't think I could ever feel the way I do with you about someone else.  
"I love you, Ace D. Copular. Sometimes I think I love you more than I love myself."  
Ace looked like he wanted to open his mouth to say something crude, but instead he stood up next to Buttercup. He was beaming. He realized he'd been paranoid about everything all along. Of course she loved him and he loved her. So he told her so.  
"I understand. I'll always care about you, whether we're just friends or something else and I think for now we're good as friends. All this time we've spent together lately has stirred up a lot of old feelings, but that's what they are: old. I know Bubbles has feelings for me and I think maybe I have feelings for her, too." Rex told Buttercup.  
"Thanks for being understanding. You'll always be my friend. I love you, just as a friend. Now, go, tell my sister how you feel." Buttercup replied.  
Rex stood up and went back inside the house, pleased to have Buttercup's blessing. As he stepped back in, he saw Bubbles starting to head back to the moving truck to get more boxes.  
"Hey, Bubbles! Wait up!" he called.  
Back outside, Ace had something important to say to Buttercup."The Gang an' I have been talkin' an' we've been thinkin' 'bout maybe puttin' together a little band. No big deal, jus' a garage band fer now, after all we need all the practice we can get. An' well, I was wondering, would ya want ta be in it? The band that is?" Ace said after the other boy was gone.  
"Hell yes! It's been awhile since I've played my bass, but I'm not too rusty!"  
"And one other thing..."  
Ace dropped down on one knee. It had been raining earlier and the porch was still damp, but he barely noticed. From the inside of his bulky jacket he pulled out a small box, the kind people only put jewelry in. He opened the lid, revealing a simple ring with a silver band and a pale green stone.  
"Buddacup Utonium, will you marry me?"  
She didn't say a word at first. Ace gulped.  
 _This is it, I pushed my luck. Of course she wouldn't want to take things this far with a lowlife like me.  
_ She cupped his cheek in her hand. Ace felt his pulse racing and knew Buttercup could hear it, too. Then she gave him a long, passionate kiss.  
Ace didn't need to hear her say it; he knew what Buttercup's answer was.

 **Buttercup chooses Rex:** Buttercup walked them both out to the back porch, where she hoped no one would burst in and eavesdrop. (It was a personal and private conversation after all.) She motioned for them both to sit on the big, heavily cushioned porch swing.  
Buttercup looked at Ace, then Rex, then looked away. She bit her lower lip and repressed the urge to begin pacing. She was so, so sure of what she wanted to say; she didn't need to make it any harder by letting her nerves get the best of her.  
 _Okay. Okay. You got this. Make like you're ripping off bandaid and do this fast.  
_ "So, I think you both know why I brought you here. Um..." She trailed off.  
She'd been thinking over and over about what to say and now she was already blanking.  
Ace flashed a quick smile of encouragement. Rex mouthed "Go ahead."  
Buttercup breathed in through her nose and exhaled violently though her mouth. She was sure she felt the porch shake around them.  
"Okay, okay. Gimme a sec an' lemme...Lemme start over."  
Buttercup took another deep breath. She wasn't used to being this nervous. Not ever in her whole life. When it came to fighting crime and saving the day, she was confident, calm, and cool, but when it came to emotions and love and everything that came with it, she was the exact opposite.  
"The thing is, I really like and care about both of you and I know you both feel like that about me, but I don't feel about both of you in the exact same way.  
"Ace, you used to be my enemy for years. You broke my heart once before. But you changed...for me, because of something I wrote to you after...after Mom died. You changed and the Gangreen Gang changed. And you were good people all along. You just needed love and encouragement from people who really, really cared about you. You might not have been there with me in battle, but you were there for me when I needed you. You let me stay with you during...difficult times, you were there for me when I lost my powers, and when I got them back. We've been together through so much. You know me almost as well as Bubbles and Blossom and you really are a part of me and you're part of my family. I don't think I could've gotten through the last several years without you. You've been solid, you've been a constant in my life, and... I do still care about you, but I feel like the feelings I used to have aren't as strong now as they used to be.  
"Rex, you're one of my oldest friends and we've been through a lot of battles together and when I was younger, I did like _like_ you. A lot. You're really funny and nice an' you have good taste in comics. There isn't a day I don't think about the fun we had together and fighting with you side by side. But-and I know it's not your fault-you haven't been there for me in a long time. Not emotionally. Not when Mom died. Not when I lost my powers. Not when I got them back. We've hardly talked in years and now you just-expect to pick back up like normal. Like we're preteens again...it's not the same as it was. I'm not exactly the same either and you haven't been around me long enough to notice.  
"You have been here for me now though. Through the Professor's cancer, you've been supportive and helpful and you've been a real friend to me and my sisters. You helped us capture our step-mom's killer. And I've loved every minute of having you around again. It feels right. It feels like it should've been this way the entire time.  
"I think I love you, Rex Salazar, if you'll have me."  
Rex bolted up right. His heart was racing. _Did I hear her right?_  
"Really? I thought there was no way! Buttercup, I love you, too!"  
"Oh, I see. That's what I thought. I thought you were gettin' ready ta end things. I just wish things coulda ended differently." Ace said sadly.  
"I'm sorry. I am. I just don't feel that way about you anymore. I still want to be your friend." Buttercup lamented.  
"Yeah, you'll always mean a lot ta me. If things don't work out with Salazar, call me, okay? I'd like to maybe stay here a lil' bit longer, 'least 'til the boys find us an apartment, if that's okay with you and yer old man."  
"Yeah, do what you need to." she nodded.  
"Here's lookin' at you, kid." Ace tipped an imaginary fedora at them and went back inside the house. He had some unpacking to help with, before he started packing up his own things. Not that he'd brought much with him.  
"So..." Rex said.  
"So..." Buttercup echoed.  
"What now?" the young EVO asked.  
"Well, I was thinking..." Buttercup said. "We could go fly, maybe try an' find some bad guys to punch."  
"Before we do that, there's something else I've been wanting to do."  
He stood beside her and took her hands in his. He looked deeply into her large green eyes, brushed the hair out of her face, and leaned in for a kiss. It was a soft, slow kiss that seemed to last a long time, but was probably only a few seconds. They pulled away from one another slowly, reluctantly.  
Buttercup was sure they both had big goofy grins on their faces.  
"So you still want to go for a flight?" Rex asked teasingly.  
"You know it." Buttercup said.  
She took off into the air first. It took him longer, as he had to will his "wings" into existence, but he was soon hovering right next to her. Buttercup took his hand and they rocketed off into the heavens together.  
They weren't gone long; they couldn't be. Rex, Six, and Doctor Holiday had to leave back for Providence any minute now.  
They knew they wouldn't be able to see each other in person often, so they promised to call, video chat, or message each other every day.  
Buttercup and Rex shared one last kiss before Providence agents arrived to bring him back.  
He waved good-bye and winked at her as he stepped into the van. Buttercup waved back, if a little sadly. As the Providence vehicle drove away, Buttercup wondered when she'd see him next.  
 **Buttercup chooses no one 1:** Buttercup walked them both out to the back porch, where she hoped no one would burst in and eavesdrop. (It was a personal and private conversation after all.) She motioned for them both to sit on the big, heavily cushioned porch swing.

Buttercup looked at Ace, then Rex, then looked away. She bit her lower lip and repressed the urge to begin pacing. She was so, so sure of what she wanted to say; she didn't need to make it any harder by letting her nerves get the best of her.  
 _Okay. Okay. You got this. Make like you're ripping off bandaid and do this fast.  
_ "So, I think you both know why I brought you here. Um..." She trailed off.  
She'd been thinking over and over about what to say and now she was already blanking.  
Ace flashed a quick smile of encouragement. Rex mouthed "Go ahead."  
Buttercup breathed in through her nose and exhaled violently though her mouth. She was sure she felt the porch shake around them.  
"Okay, okay. Gimme a sec an' lemme...Lemme start over."  
Buttercup took another deep breath. She wasn't used to being this nervous. Not ever in her whole life. When it came to fighting crime and saving the day, she was confident, calm, and cool, but when it came to emotions and love and everything that came with it, she was the exact opposite.  
"Okay, so, you both like me and I care about both of you, but the thing is this whole "love triangle" or whatever has made me realize I want to take a break from dating for awhile. I want to focus on myself and my family for now. I've been in a relationship during the whole of my teens, I want to know what I'm like on my own.  
"I want to help the Professor with his recovery and I need to make sure Bubbles is okay and that she feels like herself again. I went through a lot after Mom died and I had my sisters, my dad, and Ace to help me through it and so did she, but this...this is like she's living through it all over again. _I_ need to make sure she gets through this, too.  
"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. Maybe one day I'll be ready to be in a relationship with one of you, but not now."  
They were quiet for a moment, then Ace spoke. "I'm not happy about it, but I understand. I'm sorry ' bout all the drama that this has caused. I'd like to maybe stay here a lil' bit longer, 'least 'til the boys find us an apartment, if that's okay with you and yer old man."  
"Yeah, do what you need to." Buttercup felt sad breaking up such a long relationship, but she didn't regret it. This felt like the right decision.  
"I'm sorry if I caused any drama either. It wasn't right of me to do when you were looking at losing your dad. I still want to be friends- you and your sisters, even Blossom, are some of my best friends." Rex said.  
"Of course we're still friends. And I do love you both, just not in the way you want me to right now."  
Buttercup awkwardly embraced them both and then all three went back into the house.  
There was still moving to be done and things to be unpacked, after all.

 **Buttercup chooses no one 2:** Buttercup walked them both out to the back porch, where she hoped no one would burst in and eavesdrop. (It was a personal and private conversation after all.) She motioned for them both to sit on the big, heavily cushioned porch swing.  
Buttercup looked at Ace, then Rex, then looked away. She bit her lower lip and repressed the urge to begin pacing. She was so, so sure of what she wanted to say; she didn't need to make it any harder by letting her nerves get the best of her.  
 _Okay. Okay. You got this. Make like you're ripping off bandaid and do this fast.  
_ "So, I think you both know why I brought you here. Um..." She trailed off.  
She'd been thinking over and over about what to say and now she was already blanking.  
Ace flashed a quick smile of encouragement. Rex mouthed "Go ahead."  
Buttercup breathed in through her nose and exhaled violently though her mouth. She was sure she felt the porch shake around them.  
"Okay, okay. Gimme a sec an' lemme...Lemme start over."  
Buttercup took another deep breath. She wasn't used to being this nervous. Not ever in her whole life. When it came to fighting crime and saving the day, she was confident, calm, and cool, but when it came to emotions and love and everything that came with it, she was the exact opposite.  
"I care about both of you a lot and you care about me, but I don't think I should see either of you. After this whole "love triangle" thingy, I think I just want to take a break from dating and focus on myself and helping the Professor and Bubbles recover. Like you didn't do anything as creepy as though dudes in those After Midnight books Blossom liked during her goth phase, but I didn't like being pressured like that. It made me really uncomfortable and I felt guilty and weird about the whole thing."  
"It's alright, Buddacup, I understand. I'll always be there for ya if ya need me. I hope you'll let me stay here a little longer 'til the boys find us a place ta stay in Citiesville." Ace said.  
"Yeah, of course, I'm not kicking you ou- I mean, not really."  
"I'm gonna head back in now, there's still unpacking to be done." Ace started for the door.  
"Wait, Ace there's something _I_ have to say to you." Rex said.  
Ace was visibly surprised. "Yeah, what's that?"  
"I think maybe we weren't still fighting over Buttercup- at least not the entire time. Maybe at first. I think after awhile we were just trying to goad or maybe even _impress_ one another."  
"Are youse sayin' what I think yer sayin', Salazar?" Ace frowned a little, but his tone was soft.  
"Yeah, I mean, if _you're_ interested... we could give it a try. If it doesn't work out or we don't like each other as much I think we do, we never have to go on a date again."  
Ace paused a moment, considering Rex's offer. He'd never dated another guy, but he had thought about it. He'd always been afraid to though, because of the horrible things his father used to say about men who were with other men. It was the kind of fear that kept him afraid of being himself for years and years. He had been really surprised with himself that he'd been comfortable enough around Buttercup to tell her he was bi not long after they'd started dating. (It had taken him nearly a decade of being friends with the rest of the Gangreen Gang before he'd told them.)  
"Yeah, I think I would like that, Salazar. I think I would."  
Knowing they wouldn't see each other in person much, they exchanged contact information and then promptly went back to helping the others unpack.  
Buttercup smiled to herself. She was glad at least one good thing had come of that silly love triangle.

 **Buttercup chooses both:** Buttercup walked them both out to the back porch, where she hoped no one would burst in and eavesdrop. (It was a personal and private conversation after all.) She motioned for them both to sit on the big, heavily cushioned porch swing.  
Buttercup looked at Ace, then Rex, then looked away. She bit her lower lip and repressed the urge to begin pacing. She was so, so sure of what she wanted to say; she didn't need to make it any harder by letting her nerves get the best of her.  
 _Okay. Okay. You got this. Make like you're ripping off bandaid and do this fast.  
_ "So, I think you both know why I brought you here. Um..." She trailed off.  
She'd been thinking over and over about what to say and now she was already blanking.  
Ace flashed a quick smile of encouragement. Rex mouthed "Go ahead."  
Buttercup breathed in through her nose and exhaled violently though her mouth. She was sure she felt the porch shake around them.  
"Okay, okay. Gimme a sec an' lemme...Lemme start over."  
Buttercup took another deep breath. She wasn't used to being this nervous. Not ever in her whole life. When it came to fighting crime and saving the day, she was confident, calm, and cool, but when it came to emotions and love and everything that came with it, she was the exact opposite.  
"Okay, so the thing is, you both like me and I like you both. A lot. You're both great, an' nice, an' cute and I don't if I could ever choose between you, because I love you both. I was thinking -and you don't have to say yes right now or ever even- that, um, I, well, uh, I want to be with both of you. Date both of you, I mean, if you're okay with."  
They both just gawked at her for a moment.  
"Uh, well, I didn't expect this to go over too well. Sorry for wasting your time, Rex, Ace." Buttercup hung her head.  
 _Dammit. Dammit, what was I thinking? Of course they wouldn't go for it.  
_ "Guess I'll just go. Uh, see ya later." she mumbled. She made to fly away, when Rex spoke "Wait, Buttercup!"  
She floated back down and faced them again.  
"I know Ace and I don't necessarily get along, but I'd be willing to work on that to be with you. So we can both be with," Rex corrected himself.  
"Really! Ace...how do you feel about this?"  
"Well..." Ace said, slowly and with a bit of hesitancy.  
He took off his sunglasses and placed them on his lap, looking down the entire time. When Ace looked up again, he had a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.  
 _Is he really going for it?  
_ "Well, B," Ace looked into Buttercup's eyes as he spoke, "I'm willin' ta give it a try, if this is what you really want."  
"Yes! Yes, it is what I want."  
Buttercup pulled them off their feet, embracing them both just a _little_ too tightly. She hovered a few inches above the porch and twirled in the air, still holding her boyfriends in her arms.  
She put them both back down. "Sorry, hope I didn't crush anyone."  
"You can crush me an-" Ace started. Rex elbowed him.  
Buttercup laughed. "Okay, we better get back inside or they'll miss us. There's still boxes to move, I think."  
The three of them parted on better terms that day. They saw each other every opportunity they could and when they couldn't, they called or spoke on the over the internet. Things were still uneasy between Ace and Rex for awhile, but they did come to care for each as much as they cared for Buttercup and all three were very happy together.


End file.
